Sittn’ on a stump

Jeremiah 29:12-13    Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

Yesterday was a special day with just me and God. I took a spiritual retreat into the mountains of NC. I disappeared into the hills and sought God in solitude and prayer in the midst of his creation. I spent the day slowly driving down all the backroads and occasionally getting out and doing some hiking too. I had an audio Bible playing in the CD for the entire trip; I was wrapped up in listening to the evidences of Him, while witnessing the evidences of Him. I had two great times in prayer; once down in a creek sitting on a log, and once out in a field sitting on a stump. Out in the field was truly special; not a Spirit led prayer, but a closeness to God that is hard to put into words. As I sat there for so long, I felt his presence there, while looking at the evidences there. I was reminded of when Christ said even the stones of the earth praise him; Luke 19:40 But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” It was just like we were just hanging out together in that field. He was listening to everything I had to say, and he was showing me the evidences of his design and care in all that surrounded me. I thought of Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 28 So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ God was showing me all the proofs in all the details that lie before me in that field he created and sustains. The field and I both understand and praise him for it. He could open up the earth and swallow that field whole; he could rain down fire from heaven and wipe it clean; yet in his sovereignty he sustains. Part of me could not understand how some cannot believe simply from the evidences of Him in creation. Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

I strongly encourage you to seek God alone with all your heart some day. It is the root of my ministry; seeking God every day, for that was when my life changed. Getting alone with God and no worldly distractions will provide you the opportunity to hear from God when you seek him with all your heart and focus. Nature provides this solitude and the proofs of him that surround you. Go find you a stump or a log somewhere yourself, and have a talk with your God.