God’s presence is essential for good soul-health. But we don’t readily perceive all the benefits of sunlight for our body and more importantly, we don’t always recognize how much of a necessity God is for our soul-health. God’s presence is essential to maintain optimal SOUL-health.
Yes, we need sunlight, but even more—we need SONlight!
Sunlight is our best source of vitamin D, which promotes reduced inflammation and modulates cell growth. Vitamin D strengthens our bones and teeth and provides a host of other benefits for our body. Sunlight also improves mental health and increases our serotonin which works in tandem with melatonin which can help us sleep at night. While we acknowledge that we are totally dependent upon the power of the sun, we often take for granted that it will come up every morning.
But how much attention do we dedicate to our NEED for God—who makes the sun come up?
It is ESSENTIAL that we:
LEARN the benefits of God’s presence;
MEDITATE on the goodness of His presence; and
DESIRE His presence.
Perhaps we have not considered the benefits of God’s presence. Or, perhaps we are ignorant of the benefits of His presence because we’ve spent a lifetime listening to the enemies version of who God is. Believe me, our enemies do NOT want us to know the glorious benefits of God’s presence because our chief enemy, satan, knows we will never find anyone as good to us as God.
The great lie in the Garden was—we can do better for ourselves without God.
I don’t know about you, but lies make me angry—especially when it causes me to miss out on something wonderful. It makes me willing to do ANYTHING to discover more of God’s presence in my life! Ask yourself, do you know ANYONE who knows God, so you can see what He looks like? What about you? Do others see Jesus when they look at you? Do you glow with the SONlight? Charles Spurgeon wrote:
“A man who walks in the sunlight of God’s countenance…is warm and strong. The sunlight of joy usually goes with the warmth of spiritual life. As the light of joy varies so does the warmth of holy strength; he who dwells in the light of God is both happy and strong. He who goes into the shade and loses the joy of the Lord becomes weak at the same time. So the joy of the Lord becomes our strength…”
(C.Spurgeon Sermon 1027, Dec. 31, 1871)
God does not change. (Malachi 3:6a) Thus, if we are in Him, our joy never diminishes. Does this mean we’re never sad or we never struggle? No! It means that while we’re going through difficult times, when we’re in God’s presence, He gives us a sense of peace. It becomes very clear to us that people or inanimate objects should never be our primary source of joy. That’s why Jesus said to love GOD with ALL our heart, soul, and mind.
We cannot expect to find life-strengthening joy from people who struggle with the same challenges we do—it only comes from God—Who never loses His joy.
We won’t ever seek God as our greatest joy until we understand—He is good.
We ALL seek what we believe is good. We are often deluded into thinking that the best goodness is found in human relationships, money, power, health, success, education, etc. so we pursue these things with painful passion. True–mortal things and people ARE God’s gifts–but NOT the best gift. When we seek God, we capture the SOURCE of goodness. Then, He perfectly tailors each gift to meet our needs and…
…we are satisfied in Him;
we have joy; and
we are strong.
Our soul is healthy when we learn to rejoice in God as the SOURCE of ALL goodness! The Psalmist wrote:
“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is GOOD! For His mercy endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so…[WHY give thanks?]
…whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy, and gathered out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses. And He led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city for a dwelling place.
Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! [WHY give thanks?]
For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness. Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound in affliction and irons—because they rebelled against the words of God, and despised the counsel of the Most High, therefore He brought down their heart with labor; they fell down, and there was none to help. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their chains in pieces.
Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! [WHY give thanks?]
For He has broken the gates of bronze, and cut the bars of iron in two. Fools, because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, were afflicted. Their soul abhorred all manner of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! [HOW do we respond?]
Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing. Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters, they see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep. For He commands and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up the waves of the sea. They mount up to the heavens, they go down again to the depths; their soul melts because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end. Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble, And He brings them out of their distresses. He calms the storm, so that its waves are still. Then they are glad because they are quiet; so He guides them to their desired haven.
Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! [HOW do we respond?]
Let them EXALT Him also in the assembly of the people, and PRAISE Him in the company of the elders. He turns rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground; a fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of those who dwell in it. He turns a wilderness into pools of water, and dry land into watersprings. There He makes the hungry dwell, that they may establish a city for a dwelling place, and sow fields and plant vineyards, that they may yield a fruitful harvest. He also blesses them, and they multiply greatly; and He does not let their cattle decrease. When they are diminished and brought low Through oppression, affliction, and sorrow, He pours contempt on princes, and causes them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way; yet He sets the poor on high, far from affliction, and makes their families like a flock.
The righteous see it and rejoice, and all iniquity stops its mouth!
Whoever is WISE will OBSERVE these things, and they will UNDERSTAND the lovingkindness of the Lord.”
Psalms 107:1-43
The soul who seeks to draw close to God—because they understand His goodness—will walk wisely and overflow with love, wisdom, joy, and strength!
We would love to hear your thoughts about this devotional. Did God speak to you or challenge your daily walk with him? Or is there a topic that you would like Kimberly to cover or expound on? Please share with us in the comments below.
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