Seize the moment
By Ken and Jan Merop
Avery County
Moments come and moments go.
They slip by so fluidly that God’s voice is easy to miss. Those moments are intertwined with others and can keep us from focusing on the softest whisper of the Holy Spirit.
It has been a quest of mine through this whole pandemic year to hear God’s voice…or his stirrings in my soul…more clearly. To know it is him and not just a fleeting thought of my own.
Being sheltered at home gave me much-needed time to dwell on this, learn and grow and become more familiar with the breezes blowing through my spirit.
When Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born again to see the kingdom of God, Nicodemus was perplexed. All his religious training collided with this announcement. These had been the moments that had shaped his life.
And, yet, he apparently had missed that gentle whisper in his soul.
Then Jesus described how the birth of spiritual life through the Holy Spirit is like the wind blowing through the trees. We can hear it “but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going.” (John 3: 8 NLT)
Such is the Spirit. Like the wind chimes singing the breeze’s song just outside my window. He softly blows in and through our lives directing, comforting, teaching us to be sons and daughters of the King of kings.
Early one morning, I put some Christian instrumental music on my tablet as I prepared to pray and have my quiet time with the Lord. It was peaceful, but it wasn’t stirring my thoughts or sensitivity as I had hoped.
So, I found another site and clicked on it.
The music lifted up praise to God and his holiness. Almost immediately, the atmosphere in the room changed. My heart and soul rose above the clamor of thoughts that threatened to crowd out God’s voice.
The result? Worship.
As I read God’s Word and other devotional thoughts, I welled up inside with tears that spoke of his presence and pleasure.
That was a moment seized!
However, those sacred moments can come when creatively preparing a meal and thanking God for the provision he has made for the nourishment of my body. Or they can supersede the simple washing of dishes at the kitchen sink, the cleaning of windows and letting the sun sparkle through; or, any number of simple or complicated tasks that make up any given day.
Focusing on him makes the simplest of tasks sacred.
Moments to be seized, to ponder and treasure. Selah
Sit and wait awhile
Walking softly along, my favorite spot
beckoned me to sit awhile…
an invitation I gladly accepted.
My soul at rest, my mind calling on God,
I inhaled His fragrance and beauty
all around me…and waited on Him.
“Be still and know that I am God.”
Psalm 46:10
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Ken and Jan love residing in the mountains of Avery County. Visit Jan’s new blog @pauseandconsider.net, Journeying with Jan. Ken’s photos can be seen at kenmeropphotography.com.
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