Aware

What are you aware of right now? It could be many different things. It could be things around you; things like people talking, cars honking, music, light bouncing off the objects around you. It could be things about yourself; things like your stomach growling, the uncomfortable feeling in your leg because it is falling asleep, those annoying hiccups that you've had for the past ten minutes...

There's a good chance that there are endlessly more things going on than you are aware of. You're breathing aren't you? But until just now when I mentioned it, you probably weren't really aware of it. Your heart is beating. But there's a good chance you weren't aware of it until I said something about it.

"Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. " - Psalm 139:7-10

God is present. You probably weren't aware of that until I mentioned it. There's a good chance most of you have heard that verse before and you know that God is always present, but how often are you aware of it? There's quite a big difference between knowing something is true and being aware of it. You know you're always breathing, but as soon as you become aware of it you start to focus on it. You know that your heart is beating, but there's a good chance you're not always aware of it until something makes you focus on it. After a long run it's almost impossible for you to be unaware of the fact that your heart is beating and that you are breathing.

Moses was going through the motions of life when one day he became very aware of the presence of God. He was out tending his flock when he discovered a bush that was on fire, but not burning up. I'm pretty sure we would all be drawn to something like that. As Moses approached the bush, God called out to him from within the bush.

"Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." - Exodus 3:5

The place where you are standing is holy ground. Holy dirt? Holy sand? How is ground holy?

"I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy."
- Leviticus 11:44

God is holy. And in Psalm 139 we realize that God's presence is everywhere. If God is holy, his presence must be holy, and since God's holy presence is everywhere, the ground Moses was standing on had to be holy. Now think about this for a second. If God is present everywhere, all the time, I think it only makes sense to come to the conclusion that any ground we stand on is holy ground. It took God telling Moses that the ground was holy for him to realize it. Moses had probably walked on that same patch of ground multiple times, never once having an awareness of how holy it was.

We can't escape the presence of God. Depth can't keep him away, height can't distance us, we could sail across the sea but we still won't be able to escape his presence. Even in the brilliance of the dawn, he is there, shining and declaring his holiness. The problem is that we are rarely aware of it.

It's kind of like a sunrise. Most of us are hardly ever up early enough to see the sunrise, but it's always there. By the time you get up, the sun has already made it's grand entrance and all you notice is that it's there in the sky like it is every other day. But think back to a time when you were awake to see the sunrise. When you first look out at the sky it's dark, but as you watch you can see colors begin to appear over the horizon. They get brighter and clearer as you watch. Then there is that awe inspiring moment where the sun breaks the horizon line and the earth is drenched in it's brilliant golden light.

I want to be aware of God's presence. I want to make an effort to open my eyes and see past the mundane things in life and realize that God's holy presence really is everywhere. I want to be so aware of his holiness that I change the way I live. I want to be holy because he is holy and I want nothing more than to be like him. I want people to be aware of God's presence when they are around me because I live with such an awareness of his presence that it radiates from me.

And I want desperately for you to want the same thing. I want you to open your eyes and realize that you were created for so much more than going through the motions of life. I want you to live with an awareness that God is holy and that he is present in even the most mundane times of your life.

"God formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive..." - Genesis 2:7 (The Message)

Allow God to fill you with his breath; the breath of life. We were formed from the dirt, but God's holy breath of life fills our lungs. It makes us come alive. Are you aware of it?