Christian Living

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On the Front Porch
I remember the first time I sat on the front porch with God. It’s was evening. The sun had gone and it was in the cool of the day. I went out on the porch to ease my mind and ended up talking with the Lord. It wasn’t planned. Truthfully I didn’t go out to the porch seeking to have a conversation with the Creator but it happened. I wasn’t looking for God but He came looking for me.
He knew exactly where I was. Yes, my location on the front porch but also where I was at personally. He knew my soul and spirit were tired and looking for refreshment. He knew I was scared and worried. He knew everything about me and how I felt. I didn’t have to tell him anything because he knows me better than I know myself. But I started to tell him. My Heavenly Father listened intently as I told him about my worry and my fears. I told him my hopes and dreams. He never stopped listening. He was totally focused on His child. I was the most important thing in the universe to Him at that moment. I went outside to enjoy the beautiful weather and met with God instead. I looked at the flowers my wife and I had just planted and saw beautiful color but also saw the beauty of the Creator, the creator of all living things. Even before I had uttered a word to my maker, he showed me he was already looking for me out there on the front porch. He used his creation to remind me that he’s never far away. He’s within me and all around me at the same time. That truth is hard to grasp sometimes. He created the cool breeze I felt against my skin that evening. He created the trees that were dancing in that breeze. The moon that was now appearing was placed perfectly in the sky to give its light to the earth. The flowers I gazed upon were his work. His creativity was everywhere around me and yet He Himself, the Lord God came looking for me at that moment. I was His and He was mine.
I figured since I was out there on the porch with Him we should talk. It had been awhile come to think of it. You never mean to let it go that long without talking, but it happens. You can sense a part of you is void of something. It’s the Holy Spirit, the very presence of Almighty God that lives inside of you gently whispering to come and chat. He is longing for it. We are not. It’s been pushed aside by our life and by our false sense of self sufficiency. “I got this”. I need to do this and I have to do that. It’s all good. I can take care of things on my own. The truth is we are not self- sufficient. We were not created that way. Contrary to how we may feel or what we may do, we need God. We are continually bombarded in life with self-help books and television ads. All we hear about is “do it yourself” concepts and ideas. Unfortunately more often than not we buy into these false comfort substitutes. We don’t mean to turn the volume down on God who is saying “I will do it for you and I will help you”. “My child you don’t have to help yourself or do it yourself. I can do it.” Why do we not let him? Our complete and total reliance on God is exactly what He wants from us. That is not showing weakness on our part but a trust in the one who can give us an abundant life that is far from do it yourself. We turn our life over to Him and a transformation begins to take place. We see that total reliance on God is what has been missing the whole time. We begin to sense God’s presence everywhere as we give up more and more of our being to Him. If we are consumed with ourselves, at the end of the day we have consumed ourselves and have nothing left. If we are consumed with God, He is never consumed and has everything left.
As I continued my talk with the Lord I could feel my strength depleting and His strength deepening. As I bestowed praise and problem alike onto Him, it was as if the arms of Jehovah God embraced me. I wanted to feel like a child with my own father. I had no care in the world because he would make everything alright. For the first time in my Christian life, I started to sense that I had finally caught or felt a glimpse of what child- like faith in God is all about. On that porch in the cool of the day I felt like I could tell my Father anything. I had never felt that before, at least not to this extent. For the first time I felt like I was having a real and genuine conversation with God. I’ve prayed many times in my life. The way I prayed isn’t wrong. The Lord still heard me but this was different. We were just a Father and son sitting and talking about life. It was the kind of relationship I have always longed for between God and me. I never knew what I was missing until that evening on the front porch. I have been a Christian for many years but for the first time I felt the love of God so heavy on my life. The peace of God really and truly passed all my understanding. I praised Him and thanked Him. I was also honest and frank with Him. I told him about being afraid and about being anxious. He immediately brought His word to my mind and said, “Be anxious for nothing”. He knew what I needed. He comforted me and gave me calm assurance. I told Him that I wanted to be used by Him and was tired of being the man I was. I told Him that I trusted his judgment better that I trusted my own. I told him that I didn’t know what or didn’t know how but there was work for me to do. Not earthly work but heavenly work. The Lord’s work. I gave God the go ahead to change my circumstances and use me to the fullest. It was His life once again. I told Him that I loved Him and his embrace tightened. No matter what I will be with you. I’m working on things. It was in the cool of the day the Lord God came looking for me on the front porch. I would never be the same.


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