ILLUMINATE Day 1-Seeing God by the Light of His Word - A 14 day devotion

Day 1 - Holy Ground

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Day 1: Holy Ground

“If we have never had the experience of taking our commonplace religious shoes off our commonplace religious feet, and getting rid of undue familiarity with which we approach God, it is questionable whether we have ever stood in His presence.”

Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

It is not an hour designed for wakefulness; it’s supposed to be a time for peaceful slumber. Yet here I find myself awake while the world around me sleeps.

Throwing my legs over the side of the bed, I reach for a flashlight to light a path through the darkness. The sun is hours from rising, but I see light seeping through the cracks of the blinds. I move closer to see this light.

As I gaze through the window, I’m silenced.  White snow blankets the ground. The pure white reflects so brilliantly it seems to create its own light. The normally darkened world slumbers in a quiet white light.

I move to another window for a different view. The view from this angle provides a new perspective. A bunny still as a statue sits in the snow. I watch him for minutes. He never moves while I watch. I know that was for my benefit as his tracks covered the entire yard proving he was an active little guy. He moved when not watched, but when he detected eyes on him, he stilled himself, hoping to blend into the surrounding world.

I moved yet again to another window. From here I’m able to see the snow falling. Gracefully. Lightly. The way a dancer carries her body. Weightless.

I move away from the windows to stand in my living room, the one where I spend many hours each day. But this moment is different than many others; in this moment I’m aware that I am standing on holy ground - right within the walls of my own home, the world in which I live, move, work, and breathe.

This holy ground is ordinary, yet it’s not. It’s quiet. It’s sacred. Standing barefoot on this ground, I’m in awe of His wonder. I’m silenced by His Presence.

While I sleep, He moves. While I dream, He creates.

I stand in the place of ordinary. His whisper reminds me it is holy ground.

I have stood in the spot that has at times been a place of tears and fighting, a place of rest and restoration, a place of teaching and learning, a place of simple moments that seemed insignificant, a place of boredom, a place of sadness and grieving, a place of feasting and celebrating.

This ground holds moments and emotions of all varieties. But right in this moment, I’m aware of how holy it all is because in this moment the noise of it all is hushed. The movement and pace is halted.

In the silent stillness, I feel the intensity of the heat emerging from this holy ground.

God illuminated the holy ground I’ve walked on with my shoes. I pray I never see the same again.

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