“The king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!” (Psalms 21:1)
We can find a deep, soothing joy that only comes from spending time with our Heavenly Father and basking in His presence. There are so many people who sit by the fireplace alone! They may sit by another chair, once filled, trying to restrain the tears that flow. They may sit alone, but there is someone who is unseen and just within their reach. Yet, for some reason, they don’t fully realize His presence. Realizing God’s presence can be limited by mood, feelings, physical condition, or even the weather. The rain or thick fog outside, the lack of sleep or intense pain, seem to block their ability to realize the fullness of His presence.
“Thou wilt show me the path of life; in thy presence is fullness of joy.” (Psalms 16:11)
There is more than simply realizing His presence; the greater blessing is to enjoy His presence. He is close to you, and His presence is real. He is always present, a warmhearted friend, and the all-powerful Lord. He is there to listen to what is on your heart and comfort you. This is a joyful truth for weeping hearts everywhere, no matter the reason for the tears. You are not alone, He is always there.
Spend extra time today just enjoying the presence of the Lord.
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-7
The little house is the house you grew up in, but it didn’t seem little until you began to grow up. Your earthly father and mother were there, and they had the opportunity of seeing who God created you to be. It is in this little house that you were groomed and prepared for the day you would walk out the door and begin to walk in your destiny. Your father had the awesome responsibility of affirming and calling you forth into maturity before you left his house. What a wonderful day for him when he releases and blesses you! Hopefully he can hear God say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” But if you were not blessed and affirmed, you may still be waiting for affirmation.
Your heavenly Father’s house is the Big House, and He invites you to come, enter in, and dwell with Him forever. But, first you must leave your earthly father’s house. Forgiveness is the key that releases you from the past and prepares you for your future. You may still be dwelling in a little house with a very limited perspective: all you see is the past. It is hard to even hear or see God’s great love and abundant blessings, much less believe they are for you. If you are still living in the little house, all you listen to are the same old tapes of mistakes and defeats. In the little house, you sit in the same little chair, and eat the same old stale bread. In the little house, you are bound by what others think and what they say. There are only two rooms in the little house; they are called “Fear” and “Doubt.” When you go into these two rooms, all you hear is, “I probably can’t do it,” and, “I doubt I ever will.” The choice is yours: you can move into the Big House, or be content to just stay where you are in the little house.
Embrace your full inheritance! You belong in the Big House, surrounded with all spiritual blessings. Broaden your perspective and expectations. You should be enjoying all the benefits of being an heir—a joint-heir—with Jesus Christ. Begin now carrying out your Father’s business as an heir. God is in the blessing business, and He wants His children to carry on the family business and bless others.
Many people are sixty years old and still stuck in the little house. What keeps you stuck there? If you did not hear your father say, “I love you, and I am so proud of you,” you may be stuck in the little house. The words your father said or did not say can keep you trapped in the past. When you are trapped in the past, you cannot move forward. Many people are stuck, still waiting for the words of affirmation that they never heard. They are unable to move forward by receiving His love and embracing the blessings He has prepared for them.
Even in a loving family, many times there is a void of affirmation. Instead of words that build up, words are spoken that tear down a child’s spirit. Words that tear down can have a harmful effect until they are released. Words can bind you up and shut you down and keep you from believing that God loves you and wants to bless you. When you release the words meant to tear you down and receive God’s Word, He gives you life, hope, and blessing. Then you can take your rightful place in the Big House which is your Heavenly Father’s House.
“…The sign of your presence; You make the places where morning and evening have birth shout for joy” (Psalm 65:8).
Have you ever traveled down an unfamiliar road, earnestly looking for a sign that says you are on the right track? I have. It was such a relief to finally see the sign and to know that I was going in the right direction.
I would like to share with you a wonderful discovery that I saw in God’s Word this morning. In Psalm 65, David said that we can see with our own eyes a sign of the presence of God. It is obvious from many other Psalms, such as the Twenty Third Psalm, that David liked the beauty of God’s creation. He gained revelation of God from observing all He had created. I like to follow David’s journeys and gain insight from his Psalms.
We all enjoy reading books and magazines that capture the beauty of rolling hills and beautiful gardens, as well as colorful birds and grazing flocks on the hill side. But, David saw something different; what he saw as he looked at the beauty of creation was the sign of God’s Presence. In Psalm 65:6-13, he says: “God’s Presence is in this place.”
In Psalms 65:8, David describes a special place he has discovered where the morning and evening give birth. In this special place, he could see the beautiful sun rise and enjoy the beginning and the ending of each new day.
In verse 9 he says he sees God’s presence in the well watered ground that has been enriched with rain from heaven. He goes on to describe how the well watered furrows and ridges are covered with soft green grass and abundant vegetation.
Then in verse 12 he says he watches and listens as the rolling hills actually come alive as they sing for joy. In the last verse he says, “The meadows are clothed with flocks and the valleys are covered with grain; they shout for joy and sing together.”
Look all around and you can see, hear, and feel His presence in the beauty of His creation
You may look to your place of birth and the family you grew up in to find out who you are. Whether you were born into a rich home, or born into poverty, it doesn’t really matter. Your family background does not define who you are. Your family background is simply the ground in which you were planted. This is why we are referred to as “Oaks of Righteousness” in Isaiah 61. Now, who are you?
As a little girl, I would go to visit my grandfather every summer. He lived in a big beautiful home in the mountains, a stately mansion with two boxwood trees as an archway you passed through at the entrance. As our car traveled up the winding road I felt my excitement rising. I felt like I was going to see the most important man, a statesman, a King. My grandfather was that impressive to me. He was very wise, kind, and I admired him and loved to visit with him. He enjoyed having company, and if he knew we were coming, he would stand on the porch watching for us to arrive. A visit with him in his big, white, stately house made me feel like I was somebody special. If he was important, then I must be somebody important too.
A number of years ago I traveled up the same winding road, but this time everything was different. My grandfather was gone and the excitement of seeing him standing on the porch was no longer felt. It had been almost ten years since I had seen the old home and walked up the steps of the big house where he lived. The same road that, as a child seemed to go on forever, was actually just a little “one lane” gravel road. As the house came into view, I realized it was also different than what I remembered. What a shock! The big mansion on the mountain was so little; just a farm house sitting on the side of a hill.
This experience began a journey for me that I now titled: “The Journey From the Little House to the Big House”. It is a teaching on how we travel from our family of origin to find who we really are. I began this journey that day, searching for my true identity, worth, and purpose in life. If my grandfather wasn’t really a statesman living in a mansion, then who was I? If he was just a farmer in a little farmhouse, as his granddaughter, who am I?
Even within the same family, each person must discover their true identity apart from their family. Our true identity is not earthly it is heavenly. We were God’s plan in the first place. God created each of us differently, as a unique expression of his handiwork. Our life is a beautiful, hand woven tapestry with thousands of stitches all carefully placed in a design.
Early in life, our tapestry is a lot of different colored threads. However, as time goes on and we lay our life into the Father’s hands, He gently weaves the threads of our life together and a beautiful tapestry is revealed. Each tapestry God weaves is a “one of a kind” and He has a different purpose in mind for each unique design. When you finally find out who God says you are, you are a tapestry to be used in His house. God’s house, His kingdom on earth; is the “Big House.” It is a dwel ling place of peace, as you embrace and live in who He says you are. He loves what He creates; He has a plan and purpose for each unique creation.
For me, those wonderful days at my grandfather’s house planted a desire in me to find the “Big House”. I have found it, and it is grand. Now I know I am somebody special, because I know who He says I am.
We can find a deep, soothing joy that only comes from spending time with our Heavenly Father and basking in His presence. There are so many people who sit by the fireplace alone! They may sit by another chair, once filled, trying to restrain the tears that flow. They may sit alone, but there is someone who is unseen and just within their reach. Yet, for some reason, they don’t fully realize His presence. Realizing God’s presence can be limited by mood, feelings, physical condition, or even the weather. The rain or thick fog outside, the lack of sleep or intense pain, seem to block their ability to realize the fullness of His presence.
