I ran across a reading this morning and thought I would share it with anyone who stops by here. It speaks to me of the kind of completeness I need in my journey with God. God isn't something or someone I can just step in and out of as I feel the need. Knowing God is about living in this kind of continual companionship. Some of the language is a bit archaic, but I think it makes it seem and feel more substantial.
"O Holy Spirit of God, visit now this soul of mine, and tarry within it until eventide. Inspire all my thoughts. Pervade all my imaginations. Suggest all my decisions. Lodge in my will's most inward citadel and order all my doings. Be with me in my silence and in my speech, in my haste and in my leisure, in company and in solitude, in the freshness of morning and in the weariness of the evening; and give me the grace at all times to rejoice in thy mysterious companionship." - from "A Diary of Private Prayer" by John Baillie
If Christmas reminds us of anything, it is the abiding presence of God with us. This presence is not meant to be a token offering of God's goodwill toward us, but a constant consuming reality of the Divine in every aspect of life. I long to have God "pervade my imagination." What a great thought! I know I have a good imagination, but how infrequently do I feel that God's Spirit is filling and directing it!
My prayer for you this Christmas season is that you would link the birth of a baby Jesus with the promise and reality of God among us, right here and right now. In everything we do, and in everything we say, God is with us as our mysterious companion.
May you enjoy Him more than ever before. Many blessings as you journey on.
