One of life’s most precious gifts is to be close to the ones we love. We often build our
lives around the special times we can come together. Holidays, birthdays, anniversaries
and milestones. We wouldn’t think of missing a special day… not if at all possible. We’ll
hop the planes and trains and drive the distance in our cars to get to our loved ones.
We’ll pay the price for the tickets and the gas. Distance doesn’t keep us from getting to
those we love. We will travel just to hug a neck and spend a day or two together.
If married, we seek a special time away from it all to be alone with the one we love. We
retreat from all other activity, from all other noise, we make an escape to honor our
wedding and anniversaries. We make a great effort and often spend a lot of money to
just be alone with each other for a while. It’s beautiful. God is in our midst as we love
one another. It was, after all, his own idea.
Dear friends, let us continuously love one another, because love comes from God.
Everyone who loves has been born from God and knows God. 1 John 4:7
King David told of his deep abiding devotion toward the Lord in the Psalms. There’s a
familiar verse we love to quote. David’s desire is beautiful and compelling in Psalm 27:4.
I have asked one thing from the LORD; it is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life, gazing on the beauty of the LORD and seeking him in his temple.
All the days of our lives, above all other things, to seek to gaze at the beauty of our Lord.
To draw away with him. Do whatever it takes to be in his presence. Sit at his feet. Gaze
on him. What price do we pay, I wonder? It’s a thought, isn’t it?
My mind is drawn to eternity. Truthfully, the greatest things in heaven won’t be the
mansions, gates of pearl or the streets of gold. The awesome creatures in heaven aren’t
recorded to be singing about those things.
And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and
within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God
Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” Revelation 4:8
The eternal presence of Jesus will be the greatest of all. To be with him. To gaze on his
beauty and seek him in the temple, just as David said. I am so drawn to that verse from Revelation. Imagine, the four living creatures who never tire of saying, “Holy, Holy, Holy…:” all day, all night, every day and every night! How awesome it must be to be in the presence of God.
I’m mindful of the verse from James 4:8, promising that if we draw near to God he will
draw near to us. And how can we not then recall Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and
find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Beloved, if we’re to spend all of eternity with Him, we ought to desire His presence
above all else now. If the creatures most familiar with his presence and his throne never
ever tire of singing his praises, how wonderful his presence must be!
In Genesis 15:1, not too far into the beginnings of human creation the Lord appeared to
Abram in a vision, After these things the word of Jehovah came unto Abram in a vision,
saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
Abram’s exceeding great reward was Jehovah himself. My soul cries out, doesn’t yours?!
For all time, the presence of God is the greatest reward there has been and will ever be.
It makes me want to fall at his feet now.
Prayer of activation:
Abba Father, there is nothing greater than your presence. You are the Exceeding Great
Reward, the Holy One. The four living creatures sing an unending song of your holiness. I
am so in awe! Draw us, I pray, to your feet now! I pray that we know the burning desire that
David spoke of. That we sit, and gaze at your beauty. Above all else and above everyone
else, be the burning desire of our hearts! There is no love greater than yours. There is no
one greater than you. Awaken us to your presence! AMEN.
Written by Autumn Temple
Autumn Temple serves IWM as Intercessory Prayer Leader, She is a worshipper of the Lord Jesus, She is a youth leader and speaker. She is wife to Mike and mother to five children. Autumn inspires many to worship with passion and pray with fervor!
