Worship and revelation Pt. 1

(This is probably going to be several postings long ... there's just too much to say all at once.)

I absolutely love to worship. I think I could stay in the presence of God for hours and not get bored. (Hungry, maybe, but not bored.) I have fought battles and gone through trials to come to where I am in worship, and I think that's why it is so sweet to me. But where I have been isn't the point of this post. This post is to share a revelation that I had in worship this past week; to try and put into words what my brain is having a hard time wrapping around.

As I was standing in worship this past Thursday night, I felt like I was literally standing in the presence of God. I knelt down to worship and "saw" a cloud descending from Heaven and once it landed I realized that I was kneeling at the throne of God. Although I couldn't see His face, I knew that He was beautiful. I felt nothing but love and saw nobody but Him. In fact, it was like I was the only one in the room, just worshiping and being wrapped in His love. So often I think we get trapped in the mindset that we are just sending up praises and hoping that He hears. That there is this invisible barrier that we have to penetrate and if we try hard enough, God might just hear us and possibly be pleased with our worship. But that isn't how we should live. That is not how God intended for us to worship.

Hebrews 4:16 says "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." The two previous verses talk about Jesus being in Heaven and how He understands our trials. I don't think this verse means saying "Oh God, I hope you can hear me and that somehow my request is reaching your ears. I'm going to stand here thinking that possibly you might hear me and answer." It doesn't even mean boldly proclaiming that you know He's somewhere off in the galaxy and even though He's nowhere near, He can hear light years away and answer. Come before His throne! Heaven is here!

Jesus preached that the Kingdom of heaven is here many times throughout the New Testament (Matt. 3:2, Matt. 4:17, Matt. 10:17, etc.) and I don't think He was lying. The Kingdom of Heaven is near; it's at hand! That means you can reach out and touch it! God did not rip the veil in two to bring us into a new form of legalism where we have to work in order to come into His presence; He is releasing His presence upon all of us!! I know that it may seem to be a silly image, but seeing the throne of God in the middle of the church, in the middle of my room, in the middle of my work, reminds me that the kingdom of Heaven is at hand and that I really do enter into His presence when I worship.