Refreshing

Sometimes, I dream about sitting on the deck on a warm Spring day with a cool, gentle breeze blowing through my hair and sipping on a tall glass of ice cold sweet tea.  I ponder what it would be like to stand in God's presence, sit by the crystal clear brook of heaven or lie down with the lion without fear.  

My imagination runs wild when I'm having a challenging day and I think about sitting down with a fresh batch of warm cookies. But there is nothing quite like basking in the glory of the Holy Spirit and spending time with God. He refreshes the soul. Isaiah declares, "For with stammering lips and another tongue will He speak to this people; And This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing."(Isaiah 28:11-12) When we go into our 'secret place' and quietly sit in the presence of God - He takes the junk of our dysfunctional lives and refreshes our soul. And we step out of our prayer space different than we stepped in.

May the longing and craving of our heart always be simply to pursue more of God in our lives. The Psalmist understood this longing when he said, "As the deer pants after the water brooks, so my soul pants after Thee." (Psalm 42:1) May we desire Him more, as if we've been a deer that has trudged through the forest in the winter and gone days without nourishing food and water. Longing ever so deeply to walk in His Presence and sit at His Feet. That longing will bring you to the place of determination to stand in the Presence of the Spirit of God and gain sweet refreshment that only God can give through communion with Him.