"David said this about Him, ‘I can see the Lord before me all the time. He is at my right side so that I do not need to be troubled." ~ Acts 2:25
I’m in the “home stretch “ of a really good (and really challenging!) Bible study with some amazing girlfriends. One of the discussion questions we tossed around in this week’s gathering was, “How do you think you would feel or react if, in the middle of your prayer, you looked up to see Jesus standing there, right there, physically present in front of you?” The responses were varied: “I’d just start crying”; “I’d fall on my face immediately”; “I’d cry out His Name.” I suspect we’d respond in ways that we can’t really wrap our minds around, as we consider the hypothetical question.
But the Holy Spirit was quick to point out to me that Jesus IS standing here… not bodily, not yet… but He’s here, right now and continually, very present and completely “getting” me. He understands every feeling, every motivation, because He’s already “been there, done that”. He is supremely empathetic, because He deliberately positioned himself to walk this worldly life so HE can say “I know,” and mean it. He knows what it’s like to feel taken for granted, laughed at, unwelcome, vilified, lonely, exhausted, broke, homeless, hungry, overworked, underestimated, doubted, lied to, complained to, mediator, arbitrator, food provider, encourager, cleaner-up of others’ messes, interpreter, peace-keeper… the list goes on.
He tasted all of life ‘s challenges, disappointments and hurts for the singular purpose of making Himself qualified to hear our prayers and then work through them for our ultimate good.
One of the very best things in life is walking through it, for a season or a lifetime, with someone who just “gets” me, knows what’s going on beneath my outward demeanor, and who doesn’t want or need me to try and “measure up”. I’ve known a precious few. A relationship like that gives me permission to be who I am, and it makes me want to be worthy of it. And that’s what HE offers me: His presence, constant and unconditional, undistracted, intent on doing whatever is in my best interest. Today’s assignment, for you, and for me? Acknowledging His presence, and purposing to live worthy of it, to the extent this flesh allows. Because He is able, I am enabled.
Praise Him!
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