The Godly Woman's Journey: Desperate

Memory/Meditation verse: "[She] wanted desperately to see Jesus, but the crowd was in [her] way..." ~ Luke 19:3 (Message)

I left church last night speechless. My whole week has been like this. God's presence has been so near since I became "undone" (read about it here). I am unworthy of such an embrace from my Father but it has been so good...so very good.

Its like falling in love for the first time. My heart for no other reason than God Himself will leaped and a smile will come to my face. I feel such joy, such comfort like the soothing sensation of a warm drink on a sore throat.

Even though my week at work has been busy and has tried to squeeze more hours out of me than it should, I have felt His presence. The enemy has thrown in a few tensions here and there but I have truly been living in His embrace.

My quiet times and readings have all connected. So too last nights message and praise songs at church. I love how God does that and it leaves me wanting and yearning for more. It leaves me feeling desperate. Desperate for more of Him.

Just like Zacchaeus...

Then Jesus entered and walked through Jericho. There was a man there, his name Zacchaeus, the head tax man and quite rich. He wanted desperately to see Jesus, but the crowd was in his way—he was a short man and couldn't see over the crowd. So he ran on ahead and climbed up in a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus when he came by. ~ Luke 19:1-4

"He wanted desperately to see Jesus"-mirroring that desire in the heart reflects a godly woman. She yearns for more of God. She cannot spend enough time searching for Him in her quiet times, in her prayers, in her worship. This boldly characterizes her as a Jesus girl, stamps her as a Proverbs 31 Woman.

He is her manna, the primary source of her daily nutrients for her body, mind and soul. She is careful not to take in too much of "other things" from her plate so that there is more room for Him.

But like Zacchaeus, "but the crowd was in his way" things get in the way...commitments, people, hobbies, TV, books, addictions...

Our pastor gave the analogy of a meal. A meal is meant to be enjoyed, to provide nutrients, to fill. But if we take in too many others things right before a meal we find that we are already filled up and when it is time to sit at the table to enjoy the meal, we have no room for it, no desire for its blessing.

This too can happen in our spiritual life. If we soak up too much time in work, in TV, in our hobby...we become stuffed. Then when we sit down in our quiet time...in our secret place with God we have no room left for all that He has to offer us.

But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Matthew 6:6

Our pastor spoke about the Jewish tradition of the prayer shawl and how it reflects the tent at the tabernacle in which they would enter to pray to God. This tent, being a holy place, is a secret place to which one could hear from God. The Jewish crowds could not all fit into the tent of the tabernacle so they would cover their heads with their prayer shawls, creating a tent, a secret place in which they could talk to God and await His voice.

I thought about my own quiet times I have each morning with God. I challenge you to think of your own quiet times. Do we enter it as holy? Do we imagine being in His tent, His secret place? Do we pray and meditate on His word so that we may hear His still small voice or do we rush on to our next task?

Do we leave our secret place feeling full but desperately wanting more of Him?

The secret counsel of the LORD is for those who fear Him, and He reveals His covenant to them. ~ Psalm 25:14

Desperate for more of His embrace...

I will give you the treasures of darkness and riches from secret places, so that you may know that I, the LORD, the God of Israel call you by your name. ~ Isaiah 45:3

Desperate to hear His voice...

A word was brought to me in secret; my ears caught a whisper of it. ~ Job 4:12

Desperate and never satisfied in a good way, a committed way, a holy way.

Desperate for more of Jesus. Desperate to see Jesus in Her day. Desperate to mirror Him in her life. Desperate to not allow anything else to get in her way of finding intimacy with her God.

Jesus, Holy and Sovereign God, You are my hearts desire. You complete me. I desperately want to see you, to feel your presence, and to hear your voice. Block out anything that tries to fill my life where you should be. Be my manna, my daily bread. Fill me.

Living in His Embrace ~ Pamela