It happened Sunday afternoon this week when I decided to enjoy a short nap in my family room recliner, a blanket and chihuahua on my legs for added warmth. I had been watching small birds work their way around our back deck and as I dozed I heard a chorus that soothed my tired being:
This is my Father’s world
and to my listening ears
all nature sings, and round me rings
the music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world
the birds their carols raise
the morning light, the lily white
declare their maker’s praise.
This is my Father’s world
He shines in all that’s fair
in the rustling grass, I hear Him pass
He speaks to me everywhere.
I opened my eyes, rubbed the head of my napping partner, and smiled. It was one of those occasional moments I fondly refer to as a “left field” experience. They are quick, intense and invigorating. They are surprising, insightful and energizing. I interpret them as verbal, but I cannot hear them with my ears and if someone else were nearby they could not hear the sound I hear. Rather, the sounds and the words I “hear” reach down into my soul. Best of all, left field experiences are soothing. That is because it is God’s spirit moving and refreshing me when I lack the ability to move and refresh myself.
Some days I get so busy I do not notice God’s spirit. But when I hear music that praises God, when I sense an urgency to respond with prayer, when I detect something dark and alarming, and when I experience a “left field” moment, I know God is there. Deep inside. Teaching and reminding me that He closely hovers.
There is nothing scary or strange or pretentious about this relationship. It is amazing and private. It reminds me of a great promise God makes in the Bible: that when we are scared, tired, confused, not thinking clearly, or in any way incapacitated, God’s Spirit will move and work within us on our behalf. I experience the great comfort of such a relationship when I learn of suffering that inevitably scares me as well as breaks my heart. God is there at all moments. He is a God that not only nudges us to live better, but also comforts us when we need a heavenly touch.
The key to such experiences, I believe, is to acknowledge your need for God. It is to take time to be quiet and listen for God’s Spirit. It also involves being extremely diligent about putting into your heart and soul good thoughts, images, experiences, advice, prayers and people.
Such interaction sets into motion a relationship with God that will occasionally work independently of you to surprise, soothe and elevate your daily life.
