Experiencing God's Presence #17 - The One Year Experiencing God's Presence Devotional
Experiencing God's Presence #17
The angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Revelation 22:1
The human heart longs for utopia—some Shangri-la or Fountain of Youth that makes everything “right” again. Somewhere deep inside is an impulse hungering for a place where wounds are healed, conflict is resolved, pressures cease, desires are fulfilled, and death doesn’t hang over our heads. The vestiges of Eden remain in our hearts; we know the world isn’t as it should be. We want something—or someone—to make it right.
The theologically correct solution, from a Christian’s point of view, is that the Son of God will return and make all things new. And, in fact, He is already renewing those who believe in Him. But the re-genesis we look for, the gleaming paradise hidden in our longings, hasn’t fully appeared. We saw glimpses of it in Jesus’ earthly ministry—love, healings, promises, restoration; we see it in various lives and ministries today; and we see a picture of it at the end of Revelation. There’s one thing in common in all such pictures: His Presence. Wherever He manifests Himself openly, perfection begins to emerge.
Every time we encounter the living Lord in our everyday lives, we are to some degree renewed. Restoration, healing, fulfillment, peace, and freedom all begin to spring up within us. He Himself is the utopia we long for. He doesn’t make everything smooth for us, obviously, because His process begins on the inside and works its way out. But that’s the difference between Him and the utopias of our imagination: we envision them beginning in our outward circumstances and then impacting our inward state of being. Jesus gets to the root of the problem—our own hearts—and uses them as a starting point for transforming the world. And in the end, we will see perfection and completion in all its fullness.
Lord, breathe Your new life into me—every part of my being—as I sit in Your Presence.
