In His Presence...

This time last year I was spending all of my evenings at a little theater in downtown Kalamazoo with a bunch of people, most of whom I didn't know. Some of them had been in hundreds of plays and one of them was a film actor from Hollywood, but there was something about the show- which was all about the crucifixion of Jesus- that made us all equal.

At the end of each show, after Jesus had been resurrected, we all came on stage in groups and knelt at His feet. The first time we rehearsed it, we all started crying. The second time we practiced it, we cried even more. I thought for sure that by the time the actual show rolled around, we would be out of tears and have to act more emotional than we felt. But the opposite ended up being true- by the final performance, all of us were bawling our eyes out more than we ever had before.

There was something about this show and the way that the reality of what Jesus did for us set in like never before. And when the drama came to a close, His presence was so strong that all we could do was cry.

Looking back over this year and all of the things that have happened, one thing that disappoints me is how often I haven't taken the time to soak in God's presence. It's one thing to think about Him for a little while, but it's an entirely different thing to experience His presence.

Maybe you don't cry- maybe you laugh or smile or fall in love or feel like you're floating in clouds, or maybe you don't know because you've never truly felt God's presence. The only thing that I can say is that one of the things that changed me the most was the song that they played during that final scene. And no matter how much time you have right now, I hope that you make the time to listen to it and ask Jesus to flood you with His presence while you do.

He is faithful.  

"You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy, at Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore." Psalm 16:11

^{http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkkSbS_z1yA}