In His Presence

When we draw aside for our quiet time, or our devotional time, we do so with intentions of spending time in the presence of God.  It is our time with Him.  What we know is that sometimes it works out gloriously and sometimes it seems God must be in another world.  Our best laid plans do indeed go awry.  But, the truth is that we need not seek Him, or set aside time with a hope that He will show up.  Instead, another option is to follow the model set forth in the second chapter of Genesis.    

Verse 8 of the 3rd chapter  creates a different image of us to consider as it says, "They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze..."  Being in the presence of the Lord God did not require looking for Him.  Nothing special had to be done.  It seems from the language of the passage that the Lord God had a way of showing up.  He was present in what was an ordinary evening moment simply because He chose to be.  The Garden of Eden couple had been with the Lord God on so many such moments that they knew to look for Him, to expect Him, and in this case of shame and disobedience to hide from Him.     

This early image of God being with us enables us to understand that God is where we are and He reveals Himself for moments of intimacy simply because such is His nature.  To look for Him only in our quiet times is to miss the holy intention.  Every moment holds within it the possibility of divine revealing and holy words to hear.  What is takes is for us to live with eyes that are looking, ears that are listening, and a life that is bent on paying attention.  God can be counted on to take care of the rest.