“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.” Psalm 139:7-8

Finding Him

Every day, I have my devotions in the same place and time inside my house. It is quiet there. Over the years, I have created a cozy, reliable spot to come before Him. I think He likes that. I think He is glad that I persist in pursuing Him. I imagine He looks forward to our daily meetings. I show up; He shows up. We talk. Moses did the  same thing—he had a “tent of meeting.”

If I met God elsewhere, would our encounter look different?

I tried it the other day, just because I wondered if I’d sense His presence in the same way. I sat at an outside table early in the morning. I started to praise Him, as I always do. But it was noisy with the morning wake-ups of early-rising critters. A rooster, followed by a cow, some blue jays, and then the neighbor’s sheep. Daytime has arrived, and they wanted their breakfast. I briefly considered that they, too, may have been praising the Lord, but this did not help my concentration. The moment my ears were open to the animal sounds, they were open to every other sound. I began to hear cars in the distance. A train whistle, followed by wind shaking the dry leaves from their branches. I was no longer able to screen anything out, and I went back indoors.

How did the men and women of Bible times—and in many parts of the world today—live outside and find a way to fellowship with God? I have often pictured David as a shepherd boy, alone with his flocks and his harp and flute, writing worship music and poetry. He was able to focus on God outdoors. I suppose living in a tent full-time caused one to develop skills of putting the sounds of nature aside to accomplish the task at hand. We all have experienced brief moments of gratitude and awe when looking at a sunset or witnessing the miracle of birth, but this is not the same as meditating on His Word and talking things over with Him.

And what of the people who lived in the cities? Maybe it was too noisy for them, too. What was their relationship like with the Father? Did they take a walk down a dusty lane to be alone with Him? Or was their worship all ritual with no intimacy? I do not cast judgment on them—I’m truly wondering how they spent time with Him.

We tend to return to the tried and true, because it works for us. We know things will get done if we do them a certain way.

But I still wonder, could my heavenly Father be calling me away to meet Him differently? Would my faith look different? Would my surrender to Him look different? Would my perspective be different? Would a whole new set of thoughts come to me by the work of the Spirit in me? I think He wants me to pursue this. I’m going to be mindful of His call to me, no matter what time or day it is, and no matter where I am or what is happening around me.

Lord, I know You are ever with me, yet I don’t always sense You. Help me to find You throughout my day. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.