Reconciliation.Cafe

After my trip into the beautiful mountains of Tennessee, there were several points of reflection. It’s funny how being engulfed in creation can open up the mind to several “Aha” moments. I’m convinced that our spiritual connection to nature is part of the connectivity intended in our original design to walk in the garden of Eden with God in the cool of the day. That’s why we are drawn to nature. That’s why there’s a spiritual high that we feel after spending time in wilderness experiences. That’s where we seem to hear God more clearly. When we incorporate the wonders of nature only God could understand, into our solitude seeking, we experience the perfect design that was intended for us. No need for hustle. No need for grind. No urge to “make things happen”. Just a perfect feeling that presence is enough. Us present in His presence, hand-in-hand, step-by-step. Perfect design. 

Knowing our place in this eternal relationship is key.

He has the benefit of elevated perspective. He also lives outside of time itself. He can see what we can’t. When we lean into Him, learning to abide in Him, we trust that He knows what we don’t. I don’t need to know it all, or see it all (even if I want to), when I trust that He can. And when I give up my need to know-it-all, then my part of the covenant is fully realized. My “clause” in this completely scandalous covenant with the God of all gods, is SURRENDER. I just have to release the reigns of my life.

Sounds easy enough, right? But why is it such a struggle for us almost everyday?!

Giving up control is one of the hardest things to do in life. We are bombarded culturally with cries of “what about me?!” It’s hard to surrender when the song constantly playing around you is “self-first”. It’s starts with leaving the noise of the music playing around you, so you can hear the song being sung over you. Solitude is a huge step in surrender. It goes against hustle-culture. It often gets distorted as “me time”. That in itself screams selfishness. I’m not referring to leaving the crowds so you can entertain yourself in the quiet.  I’m talking about leaving the chaos, so you can have impactful glimpses of the original design. It’s only with Him that we can even begin to know our identity, our place in this world and the one to come. 

This is what God intended for us, in the Garden, through the fall, to the restoration of His son Jesus, to sending His Spirit to dwell within us. Perfect design.  

Then Adonai Elohim formed the man out of the dust from the ground and He breathed into his nostrils a breath of life—so the man became a living being. Then Adonai Elohim planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there He put the man whom He had formed. ‭‭- Genesis‬ ‭2:7-8‬ ‭TLV‬‬

I will set My Tabernacle among you, and My soul will not abhor you. I will walk among you and will be your God, and you will be My people. -Leviticus‬ ‭26:11-12‬ ‭TLV‬‬

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. – John‬ ‭3:16-17‬ ‭TLV‬‬

Now because you are sons, God sent the Ruach of His Son into our hearts, who cries out, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a son—and if a son, also an heir through God. – Galatians‬ ‭4:6-7‬ ‭TLV‬‬

I also heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the dwelling of God is among men, and He shall tabernacle among them. They shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them and be their God. – The Revelation‬ ‭21:3‬ ‭TLV‬‬

I am not the architect of this grand design, but merely a thread, ready and willing to be woven into perfection.