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Friday, December 9, 2011

Do you soak?



After bible reading and prayer, I like to clean my apartment in the morning.  At least pick up a bit so I can have some feeling of having it somewhat together throughout my day.  I had pasta recently and one of my pots had some caked on pasta sauce on it.  I did the easy thing, and just let it soak overnight with some dish soap.

I chuckle at this, because I used to try really hard to clean it up with elbow grease right after dinner.  When the easy thing is to let it soak and let the time soaking do its magic.

I laughed at how easy this was as I simply rinsed the pot, realizing that I did not use this trick for years.

Then I thought of the times I soaked in the presence of God.

Soaking in the presence of God can be accomplished different ways.  However, no matter how it is done, I always come out better for it.

Some churches have soaking services, where a group of believers comes to bask in loud blasting worship music and just soak in His presence.  The benefit of soaking with other believers is the corporate anointing.  This is similar to the prophetic anointing of Saul when he hung out with the prophets (1 Samuel 10:10-12).

I often soak in worship at home by either playing my guitar or having a play list of worship music play.  It is not a matter of words or having a conversation so much as it is just delighting in the presence of God (Psalm 37:4).

I do not really want to compare it to cleaning the pot, but it is similar.  Soaking in the presence of God somehow cleans the vessel.  Soaking in His presence and being filled with the spirit helps me carry on when normally I would just want to give up.

This reminds me of how Samuel had the honor of sleeping close to the Ark of the Covenant.  He soaked all night near the ark and heard the voice of God (1 Samuel 3:4).  Samuel had an amazing life.

In addition, I have to think of John the Revelator who is referred to as the disciple whom Jesus loved.  When he hung out with Jesus, he would sometimes lay his head on the Lord's breast and heard the very heart beat of God.  The closeness of his relationship with Jesus is apparent in his writings.

I often hear people say they can't go seven days without going to church.  They need to be filled up.  I get that.  That is why they have the Wednesday night services I guess.

When life becomes overwhelming it is probably a good idea to soak in His presence and let the worldly garbage just fall off.

Do you soak?

2 comments:

  1. Hmmmmm.....A long bubble bath sounds good right now? lol

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  2. I try to live there; so, I suppose I identify more with the illustration you used regarding John's intimacy with Jesus. I like to walk with God in such a way that His presence around me is always being courted. I dry up and die when I am forced into environments where His presence is hindered or shunned. Thanks for posting! It's a blessing to consider!

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