I fled Him, down the nights and down the days; I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter. Up vistaed hopes I sped;
And shot, precipitated,
Adown Titanic glooms of chasmed fears,
From those strong Feet that followed, followed after.
But with unhurrying chase,
And unperturbed pace, Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,
They beat — and a Voice beat
More instant than the Feet
- from the Hound Of Heaven by Francis Thompson
These are the opening lines of an awesome poem describing the pursuit of God and His love for us. I came across it this morning, and it helped me see something I never really noticed before. The presence of God is relative. I mean that as in a E=MC², time is relative sort of way. Don't worry, I am not going to get all mathematical this morning, nor will I be getting all hard to follow and understand like Einstein. I'm not a genius, and I don't have nearly enough coffee in my system to try pretend to be one.
The theory of relativity explains time dilation, which is basically the idea that gravity and speed effect time. That's scientific truth and has nothing to do with how we feel, but when we say time is relative, we are really more often speaking of perception. Time feels like it moves at different speeds at different times. A wonderful day we wish to last forever is over in a flash, while a miserable moment we long to escape lasts far too long. An hour at work is so much longer than an hour on a motorcycle. When there are a hundred things to do five minutes feels like one. There's just not enough time, and what time there is is flying. But when there's nothing to do and we're bored, one minute feels like five.
OK, so time is relative, and with that in mind, I propose The Theory Of Spiritual Relativity. The poem I quoted from made me think about the presence of God. For a while now I have stopped praying for the presence of God in my life, or anyone else's for that matter. Instead I pray for the awareness of the presence of God. We would say that perception is not reality, and 60 seconds at work is actually the same as 60 seconds on the motorcycle, and we know that regardless of how it feels God is always present. But sometimes it just doesn't feel like it, and it's so easy to let what we feel define our reality. Time is crawling and God is far from me.
When I was running from God, which is what the poem made me think of, I felt very aware of the presence of God. In fact, I think I felt His presence more frequently and stronger when I was dodging Him than I do at times now. I felt His presence as a weight and a threat. I didn't want to surrender to Him. I wanted to run my own life, and so it seemed like I couldn't escape the awareness of the truth and His presence as I tried to live for myself.
It's like something that is often said in recovery. The 12 Steps may not get you sober if you don't work the program, but they'll surely mess up your drinking. Why? Because a mind full of recovery combined with a belly full of beer makes for a miserable time. Instead of an escape, relapse becomes a magnifier of the insufficiency of the chemicals to meet the need.
So, when I wanted to get away from God, I couldn't. Because it felt like He was everywhere, chasing me or waiting for me. But now sometimes it feels like He's nowhere to be found. Because to lack awareness of His presence is heartbreaking now that I want it. The more I love Jesus, the more I want to be wrapped in the awareness of Him and His presence. So, any and all perceived distance feels overwhelming. It's tied to the idea of the closer I get to God the more I see I'm a stranger to His holiness. The less my life is dominated by sin, the more aware I am of the sin in my life.
Some may look at my life and see a closeness with Daddy. There is no logical doubt that I am closer to Him now than I used to be. Yet, the closer I get to Him, the more I see and understand, the more aware I am of, the great gap between us. An inch feels like a mile where before a mile wasn't nearly far enough. We use clocks to measure time because we can't trust our feelings about and perceptions of the passing of time. People leave the office at the same time when a shift ends because a clock says the shift is over. If we went only be feelings and perceptions, we would leave way early and at different times.
We need the truth like we need a clock. Just as we can't trust our feelings about or our perception of the passing of time, we can not go by our feelings about or our perception of the presence of God in our lives, especially in times of difficulty. Our feelings may say that He is not near, just as our feelings say this day will never end because time has nearly stopped. But the truth is time is ticking away one second at a time in good times and bad, and He is near and with us.
Let us wield the truth against the feelings that can cause us to despair and distress. He hears us when we pray. He is an ever present help. He will never leave us or forsake us. He loves us with an everlasting love. His mercies are new every morning. He is quick to forgive and longs to heal and restore. It doesn't matter how we feel. God is here. God is listening when we pray. God loves us.
This site is free. If this blessed, helped and or informed you, the best thing you can do is pass it on via the social buttons below. And please subscribe or follow Unshackled Life Ministries on Facebook.
Unshackled Life Ministries is grateful for every person that reads the daily Unshackled Moments, the weekly Unshackled Echo and or listens to the Audio Messages. I want to thank those who have clicked "like" on something that blessed or ministered to them on social media, commented on the blog or replied to an email subscription. It is encouraging to know that God is using this ministry to help and bless others. Please remember that if God used something from this ministry to help, encourage or bless you, it could also bless someone else. Would you help get the devotions and sermons to more people by sharing this? Hitting the share button or forwarding this to a friend will help us reach more people with the good news of freedom and the encouragement to live an Unshackled Life. Thank you and God bless.
No comments:
Post a Comment