I’m here with you now.

‘Father, I look forward to that day when we feast together at the same table. The day when we don’t have just a quaint little dinner but rather the victory banquet with dancing and singing and laughing! The celebration of Your defeat of death and the new life we live!’

I prayed this seemingly hopeful and joyous prayer after reading through Isaiah 25, but more specifically verse 6: “On this mountain, the Lord of Armies will prepare for all the peoples a feast of choice meat, a feast with aged wine, prime cuts of choice meat, fine vintage wine.”

But then I felt the Lord say, “I’m here with you now.” I looked up at the chair across the table from me and I realized that Jesus was sitting right in front of me. Yes, one day we will feast with all of the Kingdom together, but for today, He is sitting across from me at a coffee shop. My cup sitting on the table, the ice melting. My plate empty, where my (delicious) banana bread was. His Word, the only Truth, sitting open on the table.

He is here with me right now. He’s in the mundane. He’s in the highs & lows of everyday life. Yes, I can rejoice in the hope of actually being present in Heaven someday with Him, but for now, He’s present with me in a coffee shop, sitting right across from me.

The beauty of the Father’s love is not found in the loud, but the silent. The stillness of the morning fog and the smell of freshly baked cookies. All of the small blessings that make one think, ‘I don’t deserve this’, but He responds, ‘I chose you anyway.’ It’s in the little things, where the Father’s voice is the most audible and His presence is the most palpable.

There is something so beautiful and peaceful about just sitting with God, the Creator of all, in silence. When He is able to speak without the interruptions of our fleshly presumptions, His words cut directly to our hearts. Yes, the Father wants to hear the hearts of His children, but He also wants us to hear Him.

Doing nothing else but sit in the presence of the Lord and talking to Him is one of the most underappreciated gifts He gives us. How much more difficult would it be for us to burn out if our lamps were constantly and consistently being filled by the oil of God’s presence in our everyday lives, in the “coffee shop moments”, not just in the hope of our future Heavenly feast?




Update!
As W Squad transitions to our new home for the next month, the past 5 days have been spent in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam debriefing our time in Guatemala and exploring the history & culture of Vietnam. We will begin ministry on December 15th, after a 20 hour-ish long bus ride to Da Nang. Stay tuned for more updates and as always, God bless!