Enter In

 

 

It’s snowing again.  Gorgeous mega big flakes are dancing on the wind. Swirling and dipping past my windows. 

White upon white.

Delicate, peaceful, enchanting.

 

 

There may be fewer colors in a winter landscape, but there is still beauty if we only take the time to look for it.

It’s in the small details. Hidden away.  Just waiting for us to look deeper.

 

 

It’s in the seeking. 

Taking a moment to look past what we see on the outside. It may seem dreary, but by using your heart and soul it can be transformed it into something beautiful.

 

 

 

 

And isn’t it the same way with our relationship with Christ?  Sometimes we go through periods of winter.  Times when everything seems so stark.  We can’t see the glory, the grace, the beauty.  We’re stuck.  We see only the drab, the painful, the ugly.  We go through the motions, plodding along, not really seeing and definitely not seeking.

The Psalmist said,

“How lovely is your dwelling place,

O Lord Almighty!

My soul yearns, even faints,

for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and my flesh cry out

for the living God.

Even the sparrow has found a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may have her young-

a place near your altar,

O Lord Almighty, my King and my God.

Blessed are those who dwell in your house;

they are ever praising you.

Psalm 84:1-4

That’s the key to seeing beauty in the winter.

Desire.

Where is your desire?  What is your heart yearning for?  Are you hungry for the Lord?  So hungry that you can’t wait to spend time with Him?  So desperate to sit at His feet that you talk with Him all day long?  Nothing will break dreariness like falling on your knees before your Lord and Savior. When your heart cries out for the Lord, when you lift your voice in worship to your God, when you come before His altar in absolute adoration, then will your eyes be opened and your heart set ablaze for Him. 

Suddenly you will see such beauty, God’s beauty.  His grace and  His glory will be revealed to you. 

Where once there was heaviness and the inability to see beyond your circumstances, there will now be a knowledge that with God there is beauty even in the winter. 

Press on enter into the inner courts of the Lord.  Seek out the Holy of Holies.

 

 

 

I am once again turning back to press forward. I let winter settle in my heart.  I became complacent.

God brought to my mind today a picture of the Old Testament temple.  He showed me that I have been circling around in the outer courts of the temple.  I have been praying, praising, and worshipping, but not deeply.  He’s called me continuously to enter into the inner court.  To come.  To spend time in in His powerful presence.  To worship with abandon.  “Come, I am here.  Come, I am calling.”  With Christ’s sacrifice I am free to enter into the holy of holies.  Yet, I hold back.

No more.  I am falling on my knees before Christ.  Lifting my voice and hands in praise.  To God be the Glory forever and ever!

How about you?  Will you join me?