Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary. Isaiah 40:31 One of life's greatest joys is to just be with those you love—having good conversation, listening, laughing, wondering at the world around you, or just quietly doing nothing at all. Just be-ing. Considering how thankful you are to have their love, support, care, and affection. Not taking them for granted.

This is how God feels about you. He is mindful of you. He cares about the details of your life, so much so that He even knows how many hairs are on your head (Luke 12:7). He has plans for you (Jeremiah 29:11). He knows your ins and outs, whether you voice them or not, and He loves you unconditionally. He absolutely loves you without condition.

It's not too difficult to let fleshly behavior, selfishness, and sin cloud the fact that God isn't waiting for us to be perfected before we come to Him. It seems like those feelings are easily blown out of proportion when we consider them more than what the Word says. God doesn't want anything to keep us from Him. He has certainly proven that by sending Jesus. He wants us to draw near, to "just be" with Him.

So how do we do it? If there's something getting in the way, we identify it, take it straight to Him (realizing He knows everything anyway), repent, and draw near (Hebrews 4:16). God never makes our part complicated. The momentary discomfort of fessing up when we've blown it quickly fades in light of God's forgiveness and enormous love. There's nothing like being in God's presence, being quiet before Him, diligently and deliberately silencing the noise of the world, and of our minds, and focusing on the Lord. That's true worship. That's where our help comes from (Psalm 42:5, 121:2).

Let's spend the new year getting things in proper order, focusing in on God, being with the One we love—our Heavenly Father who loves us so indescribably much. "Father, I want to hang out with You." Doesn't that have a fantastic ring to it?

Drawing near,
Pastor Jeff





© 2007 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.