Timeless Truth

 

This morning in my meditation time I reflected on the Scripture that came up in a devotional I'm reading.  It's from I Chronicles 16:11.  It just so happens to have my "Word of the Year' in it....this is no coincidence my friends. 

If you can't read the image above, the Scripture is this:

"Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His Presence continually"

 This is a main theme running throughout the Old and New Testaments, isn't it?  To continually  seek God. To spend time in His Presence. To look for His strength. It's like what I call a "timeless truth".

This led me to search online for some timeless truths.  Here's one I found that I actually embrace and have probably said to friends before either in person or on social media:

You Will Seldom Regret The Things You Do in life, But You Will Always Regret The Things You Don’t

These timeless truths can teach us a lot about ourselves, can't they? 

When I look back on my life of the last 64 years, I do see some things I wish I had done and didn't do:  take that missions trip to Haiti during college; try out for the chorale my last year of college; take more voice lessons; backpack through NH and VT. 

 I also see some things I did and wish I had not done (declined a chance to go back to original classroom; lived with an old bf; neglected a friendship; gossiped). And I'm sure there's more!

However, the timeless truth of  continually seeking God's Presence resonates with me and it has my entire adult life. In college I used to struggle with the question "Why can't I see God? Why don't I "feel" His Presence? Does He really hear my pleas and cries when others are so much worse off than me? Can I really trust Him?"

I've always been a deep thinker when it comes to spiritual things, especially the concept of God being infinite, omnipresent, all-knowing. 

And as I've matured physically, I have learned to embrace God in the moments that aren't just big, but the little moments. The contented sigh of a sleeping baby in my arms; the excited voices of prek students as they discover so many things through language and play; the hugs from my husband; the letters from friends; the sun rising up over the mountain summit; the scent of balsam in the deep woods; the deep tones of the cello at a summer outdoor concert. So many things. 

David's words (from I Chronicles 16:11) are taken from a Psalm of Gratitude he wrote just after the Ark of the Covenant was brought to Jerusalem. If you know your Old Testament, you know that the Ark of the Covenant is a symbol of God's Presence.   It's considered a sacred symbol. 

For us today, seeking God's Presence is a timeless truth.  He longs for us to have a deep, intimate relationship with Him.  He desires that we cultivate a lifestyle of this...that it continues day after day, not just when we need His Help. Not just when we are in a trial. 

But daily. 

Through the good and the bad. 

Through the things we do

..... and the things we don't do. 

Timeless. Like Him.