Batteries
Psalm 63:1-2 (NKJV) “O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory.”
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Co-laboring with Christ in His kingdom requires us to calibrate our minds and hearts to His reality. In order to partner with Christ, we must become aware of what the Father is saying and doing throughout our day. This calibration comes through experiential contact with His Presence in individual worship, meditation, prayer, and through the Word of God. Our spiritual batteries become charged with awareness so that we may act as ministers of reconciliation in our appointed spheres of influence (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).
It is not that we are ever separated from God’s presence, for in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). What changes is our awareness of His presence - the sensitivity to His movements and motions in the unseen realm. When we are aware of what the Father is doing and saying, we become empowered to act with Him to accomplish His will. We become open channels of heaven’s glory.
In Psalm 63 (above), the Psalmist promises to seek God “early” in His “sanctuary.” This is so that he may see the Lord’s “glory and power.” The sanctuary is the place of God’s presence. For us, this is our private time with the Lord, where we meet Him in prayer and worship, and meditate on His Word. This meeting satisfies a thirst in us and allows us to experience the Lord’s glory and power.
The Lord’s glory unveils our spiritual eyes to see things as He does:
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV) “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
The mind set on the flesh is at war with God (Romans 8:7). Contact with God in His sanctuary recalibrates and tunes our minds to the presence of the Holy Spirit. It reinvigorates our entire humanity with the nourishing power of the new creation (Proverbs 4:20-22; 2 Corinthians 5:17). We are able to exist in the seen but remain focused in our minds and hearts on what is unseen and eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18).
The Word of God and time in the Presence is a lamp for our feet in a world that has chosen darkness.
Psalm 110: 97, 105 (NIV) “Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long…Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”
Ancient lamps required oil to burn. Our oil is our love for Jesus that remains flowing through our inner being as we abide in relationship with Him. The flame burns and illuminates our reality as we remain in Him and stay focused on the truths of His Word. Failing to do so allows darkness to encroach and halts our journey into the heart of God. This is why Jesus Himself advises us to “keep our lamps burning” (Luke 12:35).
Spiritual maturity is evidenced by our ability to remain conscious of God’s presence. Maturity can only come through intentional growth. Charging our spiritual batteries every single day fills us with spiritual energy for kingdom work and conforms our minds to the mind of Christ. The more we fill our lamp each day, the longer the flame will burn. A little oil means a little flame and greater susceptibility to darkness. More oil means a larger flame that is able to more effectively penetrate and illuminate the darkness (John 1:5). The human mind is a spiritual lamp.
God’s ultimate goal for us is that we will remain eternally conscious of His presence, regardless of external factors or circumstances. In order for this to happen, we must train our minds each day and renew them to His reality (Romans 12:1-2). As we develop, our ability to remain continually conscious of Him increases.
The purpose is that we may live aware of the Father and partner with Him in the increasing manifestation of His kingdom. Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing and only said what He heard the Father saying (John 5:19). This begins with us each day entering into His sanctuary, that we may become intimately acquainted with His presence and His glory. We gain faith and confidence to truly believe that He walks with us into whatever the day may bring. Our spiritual batteries gain and hold a divine charge, empowering our words and actions with heaven’s presence.
