The Agenda of God’s Rest

This week, I dreamed that I was at a public worship event. I sat in a large oval amphitheater. I do not remember anyone singing. It was though everyone present was just sitting in their seats. Suddenly, a fog began to fill the arena. It thickened as it came. Though I have never seen this manifestation in real life, I knew instantly that this was the manifest Presence of God. I closed my eyes and chose to simply rest in this place. Off to one side of me, a man spoke up. He was offering his opinion about what we should do next. He was not prompted by the Holy Spirit. He spoke out of his own earthly wisdom. Immediately, the visible Presence of God lifted, everyone got out their seats, and left the amphitheater. It was very disappointing.

In my teen years, I wanted two things in life more than anything else. I wanted to know/experience/be intimately connected with God, and I wanted to be used by Him to serve others. Experiencing God’s Presence was such a wonderful treat that I determined inside that I did not qualify for it. To make up for that, I made an internal covenant with myself that I would strenuously serve God outwardly and pray inwardly until I felt deserving. It never worked well. The only time that I could really enjoy God was when I used my spiritual gifts to minister to others. It was in those moments that I become a conduit that I experienced the touch of God flowing through me. Of course, I did so with the knowledge that I was serving others mostly so that I could get a taste of what God was giving them through me. I am not exactly where I was in my teen years. I have been healed enough to see how broken I was then, and how broken I am now. The difference might be that I know that God wants to be with me now, right here in my brokenness.

God will allow his people to slave away for him as the older brother did, but then we are not really working with him. The younger brother who has completely failed and yet been lavished with kindness is the one who rests in Father’s Presence. I believe that we are approaching a time when God will manifest in amazing ways, but there is a price to be paid: Our agendas must die. Our labors must cease. We must be willing to rest in his Presence. There will be a time to be used by him and to labor with him, but we must be willing to become saturated in the atmosphere of his glory first. Heaven will not partner with fleshly effort. God is still looking for those who would worship him in spirit and in truth.