Thursday, February 28, 2013

Encountering Jesus

"There's nothing worth more, that will ever come close, no thing could compare - You're our living hope. Your presence, Lord. I've tasted and seen of the sweetest of loves where my heart becomes free and my shame is undone. Your presence, Lord. Holy Spirit, You are welcome here. Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere. Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for - to be overcome by Your presence, Lord. Let us become more aware of Your presence. Let us experience the glory of Your goodness." - Bryan and Katie Torwalt, Holy Spirit

There is truly nothing worth more than knowing Jesus and encountering Him. Once you experience the love of God, you will never be the same.

Sometimes, a lot of the time, I am completely overwhelmed by my sweet Jesus. I literally don't know what to do with myself; I have no idea how to express what is happening inside of me. I am about to explode at the seams, but at the same time, I am paralyzed because of His inexpressibly tangible presence. It is so hard to describe what happens. I react in different ways when Jesus is present. Sometimes, I am so overcome by His love for me and the people I am talking about Him with that I start laughing or smiling uncontrollably. Other times, I experience Him during worship or the preaching or my own quiet time and can tangibly feel Him around me and in me. I experience a peace that surpasses all understanding and a warm, fuzzy feeling in the very core of my being, in my spirit. Occasionally I feel my heart break, but I know it's not actually my heart but His, and the emotions that come afterwards are flowing from His heart that is living inside me. I encounter Jesus in so many ways, but I know that I could encounter Him even more if I was aware of His presence around me. There is nothing I want more than to experience Jesus.

And there is nothing like witnessing someone else having an encounter with Jesus. I honestly cannot express the sheer joy that comes over me when I watch Jesus touch the life of another beloved child of God. Seeing someone come to the realization of how incredibly much God loves them and of who they are in Him is one of the most beautiful and perfect things that you can ever be privileged to experience. When someone experiences the love of God, they are never the same. Everything about a person changes when Jesus meets them and they have a face-to-face encounter with the Savior of the world. My favorite part is seeing their eyes change. When I see the eyes start to sparkle, that's when the smiling uncontrollably happens. I just can't contain myself.

I have never felt such joy, peace, and complete satisfaction as I have when I talk about Jesus with someone, anyone, anytime, anywhere. It really doesn't matter. As soon as I get to mention the name of Jesus, everything inside of me changes. If I was in a bad mood, then I am suddenly overexcited and enthusiastic about... everything. If I was feeling apathetic or annoyed, then all of that is washed away. And then when someone else catches that, I get even more excited. It does more for me than coffee does. After a conversation about Jesus I can't sleep or think about anything else or even be productive because I am so hyped up about it. And it is absolutely fantastic.

"Your love has ravished my heart and taken me over, taken me over. And all I want is to be with You forever, with You forever. So pull me a little closer, take me a little deeper. I want to know Your heart. I want to know Your heart. Your love is so much sweeter than anything I've tasted. I want to know Your heart." Steffany Frizell, Closer

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