CHARISSA CHEONG looks at the importance, when we’re feeling down, of coming into God’s presence…
London, UK
PICTURE: Jon Tyson/Unsplash
“This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” – I John 4:10 (NIV)
Sometimes, when we’re feeling downcast or low, it can be tempting to try and rush our way out of that place with forced positivity, or at least, that’s often the case for me.
In times where I’m lacking the peace or joy of God, I can easily become discouraged and then try to think my way out of my low mood. Sometimes I’ll recite a Bible verse or sing a section of one of my favourite Christian songs, but many times, these 10-second attempts at finding peace, while still helpful, don’t thoroughly scratch the surface of the feelings buried within me.
“Time and time again, I come to realise that what I’ve been lacking in these moments is true intimacy with Jesus. To sit in His presence and allow Him to love me, to really lather His deep love upon me, is not something that can easily be done in a spare five minutes but requires a genuine desire and commitment to giving the things I’ve been holding onto into His hands, even if the unloading is time consuming. “
Time and time again, I come to realise that what I’ve been lacking in these moments is true intimacy with Jesus. To sit in His presence and allow Him to love me, to really lather His deep love upon me, is not something that can easily be done in a spare five minutes but requires a genuine desire and commitment to giving the things I’ve been holding onto into His hands, even if the unloading is time consuming.
Recently, I went to a Christian festival in the UK called David’s Tent, where God’s people gather to worship Him in 72 hours of continuous worship. Though I was feeling a bit down and bothered by the weight of my current situation at the time, my plan was very much to set those things aside and try my best to worship Jesus. Instead of casting my cares on the Lord (I Peter 5:7) I wanted to shove them into a box before entering the tent of worship, somehow thinking that was the most noble thing to do.
But every single time I walked into that tent during the festival, I would barely stand there in praise for 10 minutes before the Lord would pour His extravagant love onto me. I was repeatedly overwhelmed with a sense of that love, as He would speak to me about various things that had been on my mind, and even some things I didn’t know I was carrying. He helped me unload them onto Him so we could begin to deal with them together.
When we feel low or lacking, I think it can be so natural for us to feel we must muster up something within ourselves to bring to Jesus in worship. I’m sure this doesn’t come from a place of bad intentions at all, and rather just means that we want to be able to bring our sacrifice of praise in all circumstances. But in these low moments, when we actually become deeply aware that we have nothing to bring, the God of love will meet us in a place where there’s nothing else to do but to receive.
Without realising it, this is what I experienced at this festival where I went with the intention of giving and came back with my arms and heart full of comforting words and experiences of Jesus that I could later bring home with me. And the more I received, the easier it was for me to respond with pure praise and adoration in worship.
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This too, is a lesson we can learn from this verse from I John. Our love for God does not come from some distant place deep within us that we need to draw from and strive to squeeze out. It is purely a response to the love of God already poured out on us.
If you’re feeling downcast, low, or disturbed in your Spirit in any way as you read this, I pray that you would also be able to sit in the presence of Jesus and allow Him to shower His unconditional love on you. I pray that you’d be able to wait at His feet and have ears to hear the adoring, beautiful words of encouragement, joy, and peace that He’d like to communicate to you.
Don’t rush. Allow Him to help you unload your burdens, showing you that no matter what they are, they are no match for His unfailing love. And may His love for you lead you right back into a response of praise and worship that might have been difficult for you to muster up beforehand.
