SNUGGLE UP

“Come close to God, and God will come close to you...” James 4:8 NLT

Morning had come, the sun was shining and I was sitting on the loveseat, writing a devotional, my computer was balanced precariously on my lap and I was busy typing away. I glanced across the room and on the couch all curled up was Bella, my Sheltie. She looked peaceful as she slept and I continued to write.

I’m not sure what woke her up, but she jumped down and I remember thinking; “She must want something”. To my surprise though, she jumped up on the loveseat and instead of laying at the other end like she usually does, she came close and having nestled right beside me, allowing virtually no space between us; she proceeded to close her eyes again.

I stopped typing and I looked down at my faithful friend of six years and I thought “Hmmm, she didn’t want anything-she just wanted to be close to me.” This small gesture on her part touched my heart and I began massaging her little furry neck, looking for a way to give back just a bit of her devotion.
And it was then that Papa spoke to me...

He said “Isn’t it nice when someone just cannot stand for there to be any distance between you and them; that they don’t come for a blessing from your hand, just for a closeness to your heart? And when that happens, don’t you just long to bless them in any way you can, because you know that they love you for you and not for what you do for them? Well that how I feel about My children too. I want them to temporarily forget about My blessings and just want to be with Me. I long for them to refuse for there to be any distance between us. I desire for them to be willing to leave their safe comfort zones and come to the place where I am; not where my blessings are; where I am!”

He said; “Sandy, just like your heart was so stirred by Bella’s love that you stopped what you were doing and touched her waiting life with your hands of blessing, so I too long to touch your waiting life with My hands of blessing when you choose to leave your comfort zone and come where I am...with no thought for promises, no hope for blessings; just Me!”

I wonder how often we spend our “quiet time” being anything but quiet. We come before God with our wish-list in hand and begin reciting it to Him and call it prayer. But oh how His heart longs for us to become so enthralled with Him that we forget to give Him our list, because our needs and desires get lost in our heart’s passionate quest to be close to Him; not for what He can do for us, but just to snuggle.

Webster’s Dictionary describes snuggle; “to draw close especially for comfort or in affection.” When was the last time we snuggled with our Papa God? He’s waiting with a loving heart and open arms for us to leave our place of comfort, lay aside our wish list and just snuggle up and bask in His enveloping presence.

Hey everyone, I’ll race you there! Get Ready, Get Set, GO! Ready or not Papa, here we come!

Lord, we long to be close to You in ways that we have yet to ask for or even dreamed of. Give us revelation knowledge of Your great love and how much You want us to snuggle up. Help us to leave our comfort zones and close the gap that we have heretofore been content to remain between us. Remind us to lay aside our wish list and soak in Your sweet and transforming presence. We long to seek Your heart instead of Your blessings. We do love You Papa, but please help us to do it better! Amen