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Always + Already

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By Jim Kast-Keat
8/27/2009

Worship is finding God. And you can find God in whatever you do.

• Moses was standing in the desert, observing a bush burn, but not burn.
• Jacob was asleep on a rock, a dream, a reality he would never forget.
• Elijah was in a mountain hearing the sound of silence resonate louder than the wind and earthquake.
• Cleopas and his companion were walking home, joined by a stranger who was no stranger.

 

Everyday we feel it, we see it, or at least we are able to (even though we sometimes don't).

 

Because God is always and already here, waiting for us to notice, to become aware.

 

In a noisy room the quiet yet persistant ticking of a clock is easily drowned out. But as the layers of noise disipate and silence/stillness emerges, the persistant and ever-present sound becomes more and more noticeable

In a noisy room the quiet yet persistant ticking of a clock is easily drowned out. But as the layers of noise disipate and silence/stillness emerges, the persistant and ever-present sound becomes more and more noticeable. it never changes. All that changes is my ability to hear it.

it never changes. All that changes is my ability to hear it.

 

Right now I am breathing in. And out. In. And out. I am always breathing. I never tell myself to do it, but rather, it just keeps happening. And when I quiet myself I can feel the steady rise and fall of my lungs, the ever-present breath within me and always with me.

 

In the same way, God is always with me and within me, loving me and giving me life. God is always present, always here, even though I am not always aware.

 

But when I stop, when I notice the burning bush and the holy ground everywhere, when I wake up and realize that God is in this place even though I don't always know, when the silence reverberates louder than anything else, when I meet Jesus in the people around me, I find God.

 

Because worship is finding God and you can find God in whatever you do. All we need to do is stop and breathe, become aware of what is always and already here.

 

Jim Kast-Keat wants to be a writer when he grows up. In the meantime he is one of the Student Ministry Pastors at Mars HIll Bible Church in Grand Rapids, MI where he helps fifth and sixth graders live the best kind of life - the life God made us to live as they discover their identity, belonging, and mission. For more on Jim, check out www.jimkastkeat.com.

 

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So true, Sean. Only too often we fail to share this gift with our students!

Jim Kast-Keat 6:10:34pm on 10/01/2009

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Presence. It's a gift we give ourselves and the young people in our care. We never have to "put ourselves in the presence of God." We never leave it. We just have to remember it. Sean

Sean Buvala 8:09:47pm on 9/15/2009

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