Reflection to Insight

Are you in need of some peace? Do you need healing? Are you looking for true love and even friendship?

If so, I’d love to invite you to enter into the presence of Father God.

You were created in His image with a unique purpose.

Genesis 1:26-27: “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

Ephesians 2:10: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

He loves you dearly and He wants to get to know you. He crafted you for a special role in this life and the one to come. He knows everything about you and how you’re wired, because He made you.

If you say yes to His invitation, and you want to enter into closeness with Him, continue reading below as I share with you how we can step into the Lord’s presence.

Prayer

The first way we can reach out to the Lord is through prayer. We do this in two ways. One way is to share openly and honestly with Him about how we are feeling and what’s going on in our life. He already knows because He sees and knows all.

But when we open up in vulnerability with Him about our lives and circumstances, it creates an intimate connection between us and Him.

We feel heard and seen by Him, and the Holy Spirit is able to give us peace.

The Lord is our counselor. He is the best person to talk to about anything we are facing, as His wisdom is perfect, and He knows what is best for us. He knows just what we need, and His encouragement is extremely healing in a tough season.

The second part comes in the form of silent meditation, where we listen for His voice.

Something I’ve been doing recently that helps with sitting in silence, is to practice a form of visualization.

I pray to the Holy Spirit and ask Him to lead me in prayer and allow me to hear what He has for me.

I then form a picture in my mind of me with Jesus, the two of us sitting together, often in a place of nature. I then let the Holy Spirit guide my thoughts as I think of different places and experiences with the Lord.

Maybe it’s a walk in the woods with God. Or I’m sitting at a table sharing a meal with the Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit.

The picture in mind can be anything. But in doing this, it keeps me focused on my time with God and keeps my mind from drifting aimlessly.

Another part of meditation comes in thinking about a particular passage in the Bible and focusing on the words that were said. Doing this allows the Holy Spirit to reveal a truth in the Word that He wants us to consider or apply to our lives.

This ties into the second way we connect with God.

Scripture

When we listen for God’s voice, sometimes we can mistake our emotions for what we think He said.

While God does speak into our heart, mind, and emotions, we need to compare what we hear in quiet time with what the Bible says.

God does not contradict His word. So if you’re hearing something inwardly that doesn’t line up with scripture, you can be sure it probably isn’t something He’s telling you.

Another reason we should do this, is because Satan likes to feed us lies constantly. Often his lies might not be obvious. At least at first. He plays on how we’re feeling and messes with half truths to try and deceive us.

The way we stay grounded against his lies is to stand on the truths we know from God’s word.

We must be secure in who Jesus is, and who we are in the Lord. The Bible can give us all the insight we need for this as the Holy Spirit leads us.

When we study God’s word and we allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us through our reading, we then have another connection point between ourselves and God.

Seeing a passage that speaks directly into a situation we face, can be helpful and offer us a perspective that God has regarding us or the situation.

Praise & Worship

When we here about worship with the Lord, we might think about a choir or band singing songs on a Sunday morning during church, with the audience members singing along.

Worship time can absolutely look like this. Singing to our Heavenly Father is an amazing thing to do and a way to find intimacy with Him.

But another form of worship and praise we can engage in, is simply thanking God for all that He does for us, and for the love He has for each one of us.

Practicing gratitude before our Lord brings Him glory and honor. And it lets us remember just how much He truly does care about us, helping us in turn to draw closer to Him.

In our darkest and hardest moments, this is often needed all the more, as we need God to help us through the difficulty. His presence is our only true remedy, and being grateful goes a long way in growing our love for Him.

Wrap Up

If you begin to implement these three things with the Holy Spirit’s guidance, I really believe your relationship with God will grow even richer.

In Psalm 17:6-7, King David says this, “I call upon You, for You will answer me, O God; incline Your ear to me; hear my words. Wondrously show Your steadfast love, O Savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at Your right hand.”

In a time of need God is our safe place. He is our refuge. Lord Jesus is always listening to us. Our Heavenly Father cares for our well-being nonstop. The Holy Spirit lives with us, guiding us into loving connection.

When we seek the Lord, He is there. When you need comfort, wisdom, forgiveness, love, or anything else, He will meet you and provide what you need.

He loves you, and He desperately wants to be in close relationship with you.

It doesn’t matter what your past looks like with any of its mistakes, or the perceived flaws that you believe you have. He loves you, and He’ll take you just as you are.

Saying yes to His invitation will be the best decision you ever made.

I hope this post was helpful and encouraging, and I hope to talk with you again soon. Bye for now!