Meeting God

Where do you meet God? And when you get to this "meeting place," what happens? Have you ever thought about God meeting you?

I love The Message, a contemporary rendering of the Bible translated by Eugene Petersen. In his preface, he says, "the text is shaped by the hand of a working pastor." He goes on to say more specifically that, "The Message grew from the soil of forty years of pastoral work." He, like I would imagine most of us, "lived in two language worlds, the world of the Bible and world of Today."

That's why as I was reading 1 Chronicles 29:1b, I was captivated by his translation. When speaking of Solomon's awesome task of building God's Temple, David says, "...this is not just a place for people to meet each other, but a house for God to meet us."

Well, hello God! Worship is not only corporate, but personal. As persons gather to offer praise, thanksgiving and confession to the Almighty God, He is also seeing each of us as his own child. We may not always come expecting to meet God, but he sure always expects to meet us.

He meets us when our thoughts are not holy. He meets us when he needs to stir our hearts to be loving and compassionate ("Thou changest not, thy compassions they fail not.."). He meets us when we are at the abyss, and when our whole being sings with hallelujahs.

But where do we meet Him? When I meet someone for the first time, I'm one who likes to know a person's "story." Who are they? What might bind us together? How can I be gracious, inclusive, and encouraging to them?

As well, when I am meeting someone I know and who is dear to me, I arrange for the meeting. I am intentional about the place, the time, and the surroundings--even if the meeting is a phone call or an email. Our relationship grows because we feed and nourish it--not leave it to chance.

So how about God? Have you met HIm for the first time? Have you invested yourself in learning more about him each day? Do you arrange for and anticipate the time you will spend together? Do you ensure that nothing stands in your way of growing your relationship with God?

I need God to meet me now, and likely for many days to come, as I need that reaching out from him. I need to hear him say, "I'm here. I've come to be with you, no matter what." He'll know what to do.

Come meet Him today. Or He may be coming to meet you just now. Come. Expect. Meet and be met. Simple.