Home Tools for your Journey July 6

Sunday, July 6

You make him glad with the joy of your presence.
—Psalm 21:6b

Everyone has had a moment in their life when they knew the joy of the Holy One's presence. Sometimes such a moment is as quick as a silver splash of lightning across an evening sky. Sometimes it is as surreal as trying to detect shapes in passing clouds. And sometimes it is as real as the steady thump in the cavern of our heart.

It doesn't really matter if we are "believers" or not. Even those who question the existence of God, even those who do not go to church, even those who are hostile towards any kind of religion have had an experience of the Holy One's presence. We are often reluctant to talk about such encounters because we don't want others to mistake us for a religious fanatic, and we may even silently wonder if what we experienced was authentic or just a figment of our imagination.

But, when the Holy One's presence brushes up against us, we know a joy that is indescribable, because it is unlike any other joy we have ever experienced. The gladness that fills us at that instant is a gladness that lacks nothing—a gladness that fills us, empties us, nourishes us, balances us, and completes us all at once. It is a miracle that, once felt, will never be forgotten.

O God, let me crave the perfect gladness that comes only when I am in your presence.

The Signposts for July are written by Renée Miller and originally appeared on explorefaith.org in 2004.