...in your presence...

"Father I am waiting, I'd like to hear from you..."
--Jason Upton, In Your Presence

Blue walls. picture Windows. Great art. Brown tables. And bussiness all around me. As I am beginning my YouthWorks training week in Denver, Colorado today, it will come as no surprise to many of my dear friends that I find myself sitting in a Starbucks sipping on a french press. The thing about Starbucks is this; they are consistent. They can be counted on. You can go almost anywhere and find what feels like home. They are for me a safe place. Ok, so some of you are thinking, "Wow Lance, I think you may have a problem." Maybe. But isn't it what we are all looking for...a place that is consistent and where we belong. Maybe it's just me.

So if you read my post last week, you will know that I left Saturday morning, driving to Denver, Colorado. I drove nine hours on Saturday, spent the night in Wichita, Kansas (nice city), and drove 8 more hours yesterday to Denver. Typically, I think this would have been the most boring drive known to man. THERE IS NOTHING TO LOOK AT!!! But this was not typical. I found myself finding the most simple of landscapes, beautifully and wonderfully made. I found such a peace in the wind blowing across my face and the sun making my left arm more tan than the right. I felt so surrounded by the love of Christ. It was as if His creation was drawing me into a greater relationship with Him.

I found a song today in my itunes that I had never heard, and even as we speak it nearly draws me to tears. It is the topic of today's post. Jason Upton sings a very simple chorous:

In your presence, it's where I belong
In your presence, all fear is gone.

This is my prayer as you and I journey together through this week. A prayer that we would understand and embrace the presence of Christ. It's a presence that for many of us is familiar, yet not fully embraced. For some it is a presence that we long to rest in but dont know how. For me, (right now anyways) it is a place that is consistent. It is a place that can be counted on. It is a place that feels like home. It is a safe place.

Father God, that we would know your presence. That everything we see would be covered in your love and blatantly visible to our hearts. Lord, in Psalm 28, you tell us that you are the strength of your people. That we would know and feel that strength no matter where we are in our life. God that these words not be be empty. That they might draw glory to your name. And Father I pray that I and others may be drawn deeper into your presence by writing and reading them. Praise be to the creator of all. The one who sustains and strengthens. The one who is company for the lonely and hurting and grounding for the preffered. "Let us have all things, let us have nothing. I freely yeild all things to your pleasure and disposal." Peace rests on us now. Amen.
My prayers for you friends. Be well. Lance