Time in the Rose Garden

Spent some time in the Rose Garden again... haven't done that in a while. Beautiful warm clear night, roses have finally bloomed and the sky was filled with stars. And again, I just sat there, once again mesmerised by God's creation. The beauty of the flowers and the grandeur of the stars. Created that I might know Him better. Created that I might worship.

And as I looked at the stars, cars kept coming nearby. Their headlights got into my eyes, and every now and then I lost sight of a few of the stars. The distraction had blinded me, broken my night vision. But as I continued to gaze, as I closed my eyes for a while and looked up again, there they were.

And I realised, sometimes our lives are like that. We 'know' that we should fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. But living in this world, everything screams for our attention, and takes our sight off Jesus. And sometimes, when these distractions come, we can lose sight of God. We can strain to look for God, but He doesn't seem to be there. We might not feel His presence.

But here's the great thing about God - God doesn't just disappear when distractions come. God is always there. Jesus is always there for you and with you, whether you see/feel Him or not. We might not see Him; we might not sense His presence - but He's always there. And when we take time out to let the distraction pass, and to re-focus again - we always find Him right there. And we realise He was really there all the time.

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Our God is there with us in every circumstance

Our God is mighty to save

When there's battle in our minds

And we can't hear His still, small voice

We know our God sees us

We know our God cares

Our God's unfailing love will see us through

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