EMBRACE

Psalm 139: 7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. 13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

As disciples, do we truly believe the characteristics of God that these verses emphasize? If we do, this has incredible implications for our lives, and the lives of those around us. As believers, we should be the most joyous people to walk the face of the earth because we have the very Spirit of the living God living inside of us. And this news, we cannot conceivably keep to ourselves.

Realize, recognize and reflect on the fact that Jesus has conquered sin and death. Think about how this changes everything for us, and how we live our lives in light of that. Think about what this news means for the lost around us. In Psalm 139, David beautifully describes God’s omniscience, His omnipresence, and His transcendence; yet closeness, among other characteristics. These verses testify of God’s awesomeness, while appreciating how close He is to us. As believers, do you and I really believe there is nowhere we can go apart from the presence of God?

It is astounding to think about what this means for our walk with Christ and the message we have been given to share with the lost. As believers, when we meditate on the fact that the God of the universe is so close to us, lives inside of us, engulfs us with His mighty presence, the worries of this life seem to fade away. The weights that so easily hold us down seem to be lifted. And our perspective shifts to the eternal, rather than the temporal.

Think about this quote for a second:

“If all of us in the church embrace what God has put in us and before us, a tidal wave of gospel-centered glory would begin to overwhelm our communities.”

Because God has put His Spirit within us, every believer is equipped to engage in reaching a world that so desperately needs the good news of Jesus Christ. With God in us, everywhere we go, we can be His ambassadors in each situation, no matter what it is. In a culture where the simple things of love have been lost, let’s start there. What an impact that would make in our surroundings!