Unclassified Journals 5

Hungry for the presence of God? There is more.

“At night, my soul seemed to be filled with an inexpressibly sweet and pure love to God, and to the children of God; ...
I had a deep and affecting impression, that the eye of God was ever upon my heart, and that it greatly concerned me to watch my heart, and see to it that I was perfectly resign-ed to God".
Sarah Pierrepont Edwards, 1710-1758

At times in pursuit of His presence some will enter 'into' the Gates (we enter His Gates with Thanksgiving) and then to become aware that we are 'entering' the Courts of the Lord (we enter His Courts with Praise) and then strangely some of those who have been just so hungry and desirous of Him 'commensurately' in receiving His presence have at certain times experienced a kind of 'breathlessness' as if part of their present existence is somehow transported into the Kingdom itself with Him albeit for very short periods because mortal life is fragile. An understanding of our actual identity makes the Thanks, the Praise and resultant fellowship a more practical possibility. We don't get obsessed with the gift of His presence - its much deeper its His actual heart merging with our entire being.

Fellowship with The Father

a) The communion with God in those moments becomes more about His realm than ours. Although the intensity whilst rare cannot carry on for too long because we would expire as mortals.
Hebrews 4:6 Since therefore it remains that some must enter it,

b) it affirms the affection Father has dynamically for each of His children although the desire has to be an absolute imperative on our side a profoundly deep longing an almost inexplicable longing on our side (probably beyond words those moments when the desire for Him and His presence becomes not possible to describe with human language

c) Following his encounter with the Glorified Jesus on the road to Damascus Paul took years to even begin to unpack these things to unlock just partially as if seen though a veil the very things of the Kingdom itself and the person of the Kingdom

d) Pursuit is always in Love, holiness, a heart totaled in scripture in purity and longing to approach the one we love and wonderfully He makes Himself tangible in our realm! interestingly as Dietrich Bonhoeffer said God is 'haveable' (trx from German). Waiting on God doesn't mean largely a passive waiting as in the Hebrew most of the translations for waiting mean 'Ambush' and when we are hungry really hungry its us activating and rekindling our own hearts that opens up the relationship - its extraordinary! In the world they say a faint heart never won fair maiden...

e) During times ‘such as this’ there is no place for transient religion or the trivialities of systematic theology. To pursue experiences is to place unrealistic value solely on those experiences when in reality it’s a simple but wholly profound longing for Him. We ask and sometimes plead for revival but the essence of fellowship is simply an all consuming desire for Him for God Himself and if He draws even a breath nearer to our realm....

f) As we breathe in the obliteration, the acceptance, breath (the reconstituting of The Life in John 20 when Jesus breathed on them and spoke a dual word regarding forgiveness and their power to expedite this in both realms!) and the Pentecost we are now His in totality (Understanding the understanding as alluded to by St John), Isaiah and Hosea both say That my people suffer for lack of Knowledge and that in Isaiah's case He says its led them into captivity - It has a dual meaning both national captivity but the same is true for the individual bound in certain religious or earthly captivities...).