Scripture
You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him, you trust him; and even now you are happy with a glorious, inexpressible joy. Your reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:8-9

Observation
Why does God choose to be invisible? For 33 years we could see him, hear him, touch him. Now he relates to us by Spirit. There are times that can be frustrating. There are times we might like to pray, “God you are invisible but I am not!”

But like all things the Lord does there are reasons. For the moment he wants to build a relationship with us based on presence. Presence is far more than just being in the room, but it is the sense that someone is in the room. For those who are married, there is a clear sense when the loved one is nearby. Without a sound we know that another is with us because we sense their nearness.

The goal of our relationship with the Lord is to come to know his presence well and to fall in love with it. When that is secure, then we will be allowed to see his face. Peter wrote about what we should all be aiming for in our relationship with Jesus. Our aim is to love him without seeing him, to trust him without seeing him and to be happy just to sense him near.

My son has a black dog named Memphis. Part Boarder Collie and part German shepherd, his panting presence is familiar on the construction site where Jon works. Memphis is a work dog and all day long he spends with his master. His love of Jon is so great that he will pick through the clothes hamper and pull out old socks and shirts that are infused with his master’s scent and sleep on them.

There should be something of that loyalty of presence in all of us. Just having a sense of his presence is all that we need. That is what deepens our love for Christ beyond words. When we become comfortable with the invisible God and we come to enjoy his presence alone there is something that moves deeply in the heart of Jesus. To those who live for his presence there is a reward. He steps into save us. He is a faithful God and he enjoys the company of faithful ones.

Application
There is a choice that I make that can move reality from “God exists” to “God is present” just by becoming cognizant of the presence of Jesus. I choose that today.

Prayer
Father, I want to live in your presence not because you become somehow more present but because I choose to acknowledge that you are. I know you are present. You are with me now. I am not alone. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to Hillsong sing “From the Inside Out” while reading today’s devotion.

Scripture
“My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Matthew 11:27

Observation
The most valuable piece of real estate in heaven is not found on the streets of gold or in the walls of jewels but in the few feet that separate the Father from the Son. In that gap there is a vortex of love, an inferno of acceptance as the Father loves his Son and the Son loves his Father. That space is so holy that no angel would dare to step into it.

And yet, and yet, and yet Jesus breaks his embrace of the Father, opens his arms wide and invites the likes of us into the greatest of the hugs of heaven. Like any son on earth who can invite a friend over for a family dinner or to tag along on a father and son camp out, so Jesus, if he chooses, can invite us into the heat, light and joy that arcs between he and the Father.

None of us is worthy to stand there. Yet we are invited when he chooses us.  When Jesus does the choosing we are to boldly walk into that intensely private space and to make ourselves at home with God. Who could imagine it? Who would be presumptuous enough to ask for it? And yet, Jesus invites us in.

Application
Our goal as believers is to live moment by moment in the hot zone between Jesus and his Father. When we live in that space we hear the confidential whisperings of God, we become conduits of power to do greater things than even Jesus did while on earth and we walk with confidence known only by those who are deeply loved.

Prayer
Father, against better judgment, Jesus has invited me into the private space where you and he know each other best. Why do I become indifferent? Why am I distracted? Why do I wander? You have called me on earth to live here as if I were already in heaven. You have asked me to use faith to make invisible things visible and to treat them as realities. I don’t trust my own commitment to stay there. I am so easily distracted. So Lord Jesus, continue to invite me again and again home with your Dad. I want to enjoy every moment of it. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to Aaron Shust sing “Give Me Words to Speak” while you read today’s devotion.

Scripture
Jesse’s first son was Eliab, his second was Abinadab, his third was Shimea, his fourth was Nethanel, his fifth was Raddai, his sixth was Ozem, and his seventh was David. 2 Chronicles 2:13-15

Observation
Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon and John all had one thing in common: they were the youngest in their families. Even the Apostle Paul was something of the last born among the disciples. It wasn’t kosher for God to do much with the youngest, that was legally left to the eldest brother. But occasionally, when God wants to do something unique, he starts at the bottom.

So many expectations lay at the feet of the oldest child–from getting teeth, to losing them, from first steps to first days of school–everything must be done first and best. The other children all take their place and fit well into the family norm.

Just when life becomes predictable in comes the youngest child. He frustrates the oldest with his carefree jaunt through life. He colors outside the lines and marches to a different drummer. Occasionally this tag-a-long child catches the fancy of God and miracles happen.

Why does it surprise us when God behaves like God? Sovereignty means that God is full of surprises. Had it been up to the nitpickers it would have been King Eliab. Doesn’t that sound safe and boring! King David was a shocker at the time, but God liked it so much he had it written as the last human name mentioned in the Bible. God is unpredictable.

Application
If a man of God could be made of the baby of the family, then there is hope that God can use any of our lives for things unexpected. We should never let the yawning predictability of life keep us from the extraordinary. The Lord who led nations with little brothers has surprises in store for our days as well.

Prayer
Father, take my life and do something interesting. Amen.

Worship as you read this devotion by pressing the arrow.
Song: Fearless Building 429

Scripture
But when you are arrested and stand trial, don’t worry in advance about what to say. Just say what God tells you at that time, for it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit. Mark 13:11

Observation
Where is the place we can meet personally with the Holy Spirit? I imagine worship saturated auditoriums or idyllic rain forest waterfalls or the like. But that is not how Jesus imagined places to find the Holy Spirit.

Instead he painted this picture.

Imagine a place where you heart beats at twice the speed, where your throat tightens so that you cannot turn up the volume of your voice, where hundreds of eyes are focused on you and your head spins into that out of body experience that comes with public speaking. If you can imagine a place where you are afraid to speak then you have just identified where the Holy Spirit would like to meet with you. The trysting places are the trying times.

But when you are arrested and stand trial, don’t worry in advance about what to say. Just say what God tells you at that time, for it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit. Mark 13:11

Jesus made no promise that we would not be afraid under trial. What he did promise is that the words we speak won’t be our own. Hostile audiences can bring God’s best out of us.

Application
There are places I speak where I can hear an audience wordlessly ask, “And who are you?” Those are the moments I must ask, “Who is God?” If I do what Jesus asked me to do I can hear God’s voice even in the most fearful places.

Prayer
Lord, speak to me that I may speak in living echoes of your tone. Amen.