Branding!

Branding!

In the night my soul longs for You [O Lord ], Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently; For [only] when Your judgments are experienced on the earth Will the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. ISAIAH 26:9 AMP

There are times to seek God out, and it is not really about the time, but the state of the heart that matters. I could do without sleep, yet waste so much time on the things that do not really matter. I could spend hours talkng about the impact I desire, yet take no step to seek out the God who is able to make it all possible. Talk is always easy and cheap; it is the effort that takes a lot from you and is very difficult to do.

The Psalmist knew this and his words here are apt for this season. For him, the night was His time to seek God out. Maybe his experience as a shepherd made this the right time for him, but the question also lies ahead of us all today: do you seek God out at all? Is He a God I only think about during festive seasons like Christmas or Easter, while I ignore Him the rest of the year?  Is He a weekly appointment in church alone or a spare wheel, useful only in emergencies?

I also sense that the Psalmist had a sense and desire to see God's purpose established on earth. He wanted to see God at work in and around him, so that the world may know and fear God. If my life at the moment was placed as a measuring gauge, would it point people towards or away from God? Would people see and fear God because of my lifestyle and priorities? The question I really need to answer is: 'How's my heart'?

At the seat of my heart are my pursuits and priorities; therein lies all that makes me who I am and what my life produces. It doesn't matter what I say; my heart cannot lie and it will either be the place where God reigns and produces life to impact the world or the place where self reigns and judgment eventually comes to sweep everything away. So, what's your brand? Who's dictating terms? Who's in charge? His time of favour is here.