Finding It

In life we have these moments, where it's almost transcendent in what is going on around us. We are completely caught up in something bigger, all around us. It's happened to me only a handful of times. Several times in worship, our wedding day, when our daughter was born, listening to the right song at the right time with my wife, hearing our daughter laugh for the first time, dancing with my wife at prom, the sunset and twilight time just before night and the way the sunshine reflects off clouds in the sky, and several other moments. It's when what is going on is so close to life in heaven with God, that we just get caught in the flow and enjoy life. And I'll admit, I've spent a lot of time thinking about those times, pondering how to get them back and find them once more. How difficult that is! God set eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11), but he didn't say we would actually have it for good in this world. He did bless us beyond what we can imagine, but we are images of God himself. We have an unending desire to worship God, to be caught up in the romantic ecstasy of his arms and his touch, and we need life with him in this world! Bad. It's like what Jimmy Hendrix said, "There ain't no livin left no where." The world wants to market ecstatic experiences (getting drunk, sexual promiscuousness, basic sin, etc) as life, but it's not. We need to fight back against this world and pursue Jesus in the process. There are two main things I like to do to fight back against this (because as humans, we all have the innate desire for ecstasy, for joy, for life, and we need to figure out how to get it with God right now):
1) I need a time every day alone with Jesus where we are together. Where I can surrender to him and enjoy him and worship him and let him enjoy me. And that is my daily ecstasy in worship. I have to have a connection to Jesus and life in him. Or else I am a mess. Do whatever it takes to get time with our Lover Jesus every day. Get alone with him, surrender to him, worship him, enjoy him. Tell him you want to worship him and you want him to come into you and enjoy you. He will! And it will literally be the most enjoyable, pleasurable thing you can do. You will begin to discover how vulnerability is one of the most joyful things and how letting Jesus come to you is how we let the Lover of our Souls have intimacy with us. Be intimate with him, be close to him. There's nothing more enjoyable then being bare before our Lover and feeling how much he desires us. It is enough to leave you shaking to your core.
2) We need to replace the thoughts, fantasies, and day dreams of life in this world with thoughts, fantasies, and day dreams of life with Jesus. Imagine being finally in his arms. Imagine what it will be like to hear him whisper in your ear, I love you. To hear him call you the names he dreams of calling you, my darling, my beloved, my heart's desire. Imagine the kiss and the drive home to the castle in the Prince's arms.
3) We need to celebrate with each other. We are building the memories of eternity right now. I can't stand the slogan that we should live life fully every day because we will never have this day again. I don't believe that. Because we will live forever and have our heart's every desire. I believe we should live life fully every day because we have life and that's what we are suppose to do with it. Life it to the fullest. Max it out every day. Get your friends in our family of God and love on them. Love on your family and tell them you are thankful for them. Image Jesus to the fullest to every one you know and see. Give more then you've every given. Love more than you've ever loved. For the shear reason that you are alive. And in the process and midst of all this, God gives us moments where we find it. We find life with Jesus.