Praise God!

 

       Sometimes you get so overwhelmed by the Spirit of God that all you can do is praise Him. It's an awesome feeling when it feels like you are going to burst out of you skin and you want to do or say something and the only thing you can do is just continually thank Him, exalt Him and praise Him. It's as though if you don't shout from the rooftops about His greatness you will perish. It is an overwhelming feeling and it has happened to me several times. Usually crying is involved. It's like getting married, seeing you first born being delivered, riding your first big rollercoaster and getting that favorite Christmas present as a kid all wrapped up into one emotion and experience. I've never jumped out of a plane or bungee jumped or anything like that but add that too. It's just so intense and it is pure love. It's thick like a fog settles in the  room and God just descends into the air around you. 

For me, one time all I could do is hit my knees and cry with a huge smile on my face. Another time, just cry. It's so overwhelming and beautiful. It is never asked for either but is very welcomed. A lot of times it is accompanied by a revelation into some kind of truth. I knew the truth in my head but God has to download it into our heart for us to walk in it. It's one of those ah ha moments when it hits your heart like a ton of bricks and you then realize your mistake. You ask for forgiveness, repent, cry and praise Him and thank Him all within a few seconds of each other. It's a snotty mess of tears and laughter and it is just awesome.

However, we should not pursue Him just for experiences alone but pursue Him because He deserves to be pursued. David's Psalms of praise and worship is, I believe, Him trying to do the very same thing. David was after God's heart and I imagine he too got overwhelmed by His presence. So much so that He had to write about God's goodness, His provisions, His protection and more. The intimacy that is there is seen on those pages and if you pick one that makes you heart leap, read it out loud and read it to God. Let your heart talk to God as you would to your newly wed spouse. 

The passage below came out of me as a praise to God. It was after my last post and I had stopped typing, I posted it and was going to go back to bed to catch a couple more hours of sleep but my heart wanted to continue on. His presence here was evident and I just wanted to keep going. So, I started a new post and let the words pour out onto the screen. What came out is below.  

Shall the wind blow and cause my heart despair. Shall the storm come against my house and I hide in fear. Shall the ground shake beneath me and I run in terror. No. For God is with me and He is my fortress in times of trials. He shall stand against the wind and the shaking and I shall use Him as my shield. He alone is my protector from evil. He alone keeps me safe from harm. My God will make sure that nothing will pull me away from Him. He will guard against the roaring lion waiting to devour me. He will whisk me away from the jaws of death and place me in security in Him. I shall watch from my lofty height as the lion paces at the foot of the mountain. He is waiting for me to fall so He can be filled, yet my feet never stray away from my champion, my rock. I never leave His side as He is everything to me. My life is now His and He loves me. He provides me with everything I need and more. His provisions are of kings and His never ending feasts sustain me. His words are more beautiful than the most beautiful song bird. I look into His eyes and I tremble at their fire. His love burns bright in them. His love is unquenchable and my heart melts at seeing them. I am His and He is mine and we shall never be separated. I shall live with Him forever and He will be my God. His life will sustain me through eternity. I will love Him because He first loved me. 

I wasn't sure what I was going to say or type. I didn't know what direction it was going, I just typed from a grateful heart. Why am I sharing this with you? Is it to brag about my relationship with God and hang it over your head and act like a big brother playing keep away, absolutely not! The whole reason for sharing is to encourage and motivate you to draw closer to Him so you too can have these types of experiences. Now, you will want to avoid trying to mimic what I have written. Don't try to reproduce or even ask God to reproduce anything I have written. Your relationship with God must be you own and it will be unique, like a finger print. Each couple has their own way of being a couple and for you and God the same holds true. You relationship with Him should be different the someone else. Your experiences with Him, the way you hear Him and the way you interact with Him is all unique. 

I should say that there are some people out there that take experiencing God to the extreme and they probably aren't experiencing God but demons posing as God. That can happen. If we become so desperate to have some sort of experience with Him and we don't let it happen organically and naturally, spirits can come in and deceive you into thinking it is God. Don't panic though, don't let that scare you. God is not a God of fear and He does not want us to be full of fear either. You'll know it's Him by the overwhelming feeling of being loved. 

One last thing, experiencing God is not done with force, pride, or any other method where we use our fleshly emotions or desires. He will not respond to whining, begging or any kind of selfish behavior. God only responds to a humble and contrite heart. A heart that yearns for true relationship and not selfish gain. He sees the motive of our hearts and if it is impure, He will not respond with love but with a rebuke. Trust me, His love feels much better than His rebuke. Though necessary, it is a painful thing to be shown your faults and motives. Better to stay humble so He can mold you with love.

May the Lord be ever present in your life. May you walk with Him arm in arm through the fields of His love. 

To God be the Glory!