Spiritual Awareness

The Spirit of God came on Azariah son of Oded.  He went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with him.  If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.   For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law.  But in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them.  In those days it was not safe to travel about, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil.   One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another, because God was troubling them with every kind of distress.  But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.”  2 Chonicles 15:1-7

This week has been enlightening.  I have heard news of the passing of a colleague that saddened me, but it also gave me great courage and joy to know how strong her faith was.  I have watched a hero draw criticism but gain newfound respect for simply giving God the glory.  I have shed tears over God’s greatness and His grace.  I feel God’s presence is all around me.  Not in the sense that I did not know it before.  Instead, it was in the sense of heightened awareness.  Everything done and said and each motion and emotion was seemingly God centered.

We should embrace the moments that our spiritual awareness of God’s greatness is raised.  In today’s verses, it centers about a king of Judah named Asa.  Asa was one who faithfully followed the Lord and was both aware of God and listening to Him faithfully.  As a result, he ruled a time where his country had peace . . . for 35 years!  Continual awareness of God’s presence assures us that we can always find Him, and if we can be attune to His will, we can have confidence that our ‘work will be rewarded.’ 

Staying attune to God is not easy.  The world sends information that distracts us all the time.  Even the most dedicated Christian can be diverted for a moment.  However if we read for knowledge of God and live by guidance from the Holy Spirit, we can assure ourselves that those moments of awareness will be both frequent and enduring.  How spiritually aware are you?  How can you be assured of God’s will?  My prayer is that we appreciate a heightened awareness of God’s presence in our lives.  Amen.