Resting in God’s Presence

Sunday night – how did we get from end of work on Friday to Sunday night so quickly?!

Do you like Sunday nights? They all have that same familiar feel don’t they? The quietness settles as our minds start to drift toward those thoughts of all that the coming week will entail – Plans, responsibilities, worries — they all start lining up like impatient guests at the door of our mind.

But before the week begins, there is a pause ‘button’ available to us where we can step out of the noise and worries of the coming week, and into the presence of God, not with polished prayers, but just with the simple words that we are able to utter.

God’s presence isn’t something we earn. It’s something we enter.

It’s the place where our striving stops, where our soul unclenches, where we remember who we are, and whose we are. It’s the place where the God whispers to us, “You’re not doing this week alone.”

I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Psalm 16:7-11 (NIV)

There’s something beautiful about the line “even at night my heart instructs me.”

God is not limited by daylight hours. He speaks in the quiet. He steadies us in the dark. He fills us with joy, not from circumstances, but through His presence.

This is the promise we carry into the week: With Him at our right hand, we will not be shaken.

Maybe tonight you feel tired.

Maybe you feel hopeful.

Maybe you feel a bit of both.

Wherever you are, God meets you there.

Take a slow breath.

Let the weight of the day fall off your shoulders.

Let the truth settle in your bones: You are held. You are loved. You are not alone.

Tomorrow will come, and God is already in it.