I Stand in Awe of God

I Stand in Awe of God
by Dr. Kristi Lemley

Have you heard about services or conferences where the presence of the Lord is so real and mighty? Where testimonies abound of how God's amazing grace was poured out among His people and miracles, signs, and wonders resulted? I longed for an outpouring such as this.

The scripture in James that states when we draw near to God He will draw near to us is ABSOLUTELY true (James 4:8)! This past week, a team of ladies that I mentor and myself headed to St. Louis at the Cheshire Hotel for a twenty-four hour retreat. What transpired was nothing short of miraculous.

Was fire called down from heaven? No. Did worship music play for hours on end? No. Were we in a plush setting with dimmed lights and fog? No. Was there a one-point message with three supporting ideas? No. None of these actions are wrong. In fact, all of them are wonderful. Yet, we did none of them.

For part of the retreat we sat in the presence of the Lord in silence and stillness. Scripture was allowed to trickled down into the depth of souls with no pressure to move on quickly. We lingered in what seemed to be His presence which settled among us. When we would leave and come back, the Lord never left that room. Immediately we would once again be in the midst of the Divine. I stand in awe of God! The women have shared how this retreat impacted them. I listened as a proud spiritual mentor and reflect on the goodness of God.

Why do I share this? To share how great God is. The Lord desires for His children to come to Him, soak in His presence, and allow Him to speak to them. I think at times we are too busy to actually listen to what HE has to say. We pray to Him, worship Him, and praise His holy name. But do we just sit still and allow Him to minister to us? One of my favorite scriptures is to be still and KNOW that He is God (Psalm 46:10). That was what we did at the retreat, nothing more and nothing less. We drew near to Him and He definitely drew near to us.

Can I encourage you today to take time to just be still and draw near to the Lord. He may not immediately come on the scene in a powerful way, but if you will consistently wait in His presence, He will manifest His glory.