Vacancy.

I am craving pizza. I am going to have to settle for broccoli.

Just a quick thought!

I was talking with a friend yesterday about -How can you tell that God is near if you don't tangibly feel Him? And how do you know if you feel God's nearness? What does it feel like?

All are great questions.

My answer came in the form of an analogy (welcome to my mind). A few weeks ago, I was home alone and laying out in the backyard. My rambunctious dog was running about, wet as usual, and refused to leave me alone. He can be kind of cute at times, but most times he's annoying.

This time was no exception. He would jump in the pool, sop up water, and come erp on me. It was pretty gross actually ;)

All that to say, I was laying out, on my back, eyes closed, thinking of everything and nothing when I had this impression that he was near. I opened my eyes and saw him perched right next to me. His head was over my legs, but he wasn't touching me.

I remember smiling and thinking that this is how God exposes Himself in my life. Not always touching, tangibly feeling Him, but He's near. Near enough to cast a shadow over me (the dog was prohibiting the sun from affecting my pasty white legs), near enough to affect me without actually touching me.

The last thought I had was this: have you ever had a guest stay the night in your home? Have you ever gone to bed and woken up in the middle of the night and wondered (panicked) "where is my guest?". Have you gotten up in the middle of the night to run to the guest bedroom only to find them sleeping?

Hopefully, not. Just because it is dark and there are many rooms in your house, just because you are asleep and not interacting with your guest -- doesn't follow that your guest has left you.

Jesus says that if you open He'll come in. He'll share a meal with you. He wants to stay. There is security in that. There is security in His commitment to your life.

My encouragement to you is that if you have opened the door to your private world, welcomed in the only Son of God and are in process of recklessly abandoning your own life, rest in the security that He is there. He is near, even when you can't touch Him, He is close enough to cast a shadow over you.

That is about all I've got.

{heart}

Kel