Like Smelling Roses

"How can I maintain intimacy with God?" someone asked. How do we maintain an awareness of His presence? It's one thing to meet with Him in the morning during prayer and quite another to think of Him throughout the day.

God gave us routine, not to draw us away from Him, but to give us a way to love Him. "May all my work be praise," the hymnist wrote. God could have arranged for us to have no responsibilities other than prayer and Bible meditation, but He gives us other duties that can be done with as much love for Him as our morning devotions.

We cannot say words all the time as we carry on with the rest of life, but the devotion of our hearts can continually rise to God when we learn to dwell in Him with our spirits.

A. B. Simpson, speaking of this concept, said that when he worked in his garden he could continually enjoy smelling the roses, yet they did not keep him from his gardening. We, too, can be busy all the time and yet be sending a sweet fragrance to God and enjoying His presence. Simpson said "It is like working in a perfumed room, every sense exhilarated."

Acknowledge the Holy Spirit within you as you go through your day. Enjoy His presence.

Thank You, Jesus, for Your Promise: "Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you" (James 4:8 New Living Translation).

"Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere" (Ps. 84:10).

Aletha