I can only imagine...Part 1

"And the Lord said,( to Moses) “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock.   
So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by.  
Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”

                Exodus 33.21-23

The above is a photo taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1997. It would seem to me that God, the creator of the universe, who is in everything, everywhere was giving us an opportunity to see Himself as in Jesus, bringing a fresh understanding of how awesome He is, and why we cannot see Him face to face and live.
 

I had a similar sense in 2005 when I first heard the song ‘I Can Only Imagine’.  It touched my heart, mind and soul that caused me to weep thinking of that moment when my Father God will send Jesus to welcome me.   The lyrics open you to imagine ‘What it will be like to walk by His side, What will my eyes will see when His face is before me?  And when I find myself standing in the sun, I can only imagine when all I will do is forever, forever worship you.’ The two verses are bridged by the words below: 

  

Surrounded by your glory

What will my heart feel?

Will I dance for you, Jesus,

Or in awe of you be still?

Will I stand in your Presence

Or to my knees will I fall?

Will I sing hallelujah?

Will I be able to speak at all?

I can only imagine.

Last week I went to see the film of the same name.  It tells the story of the man who wrote this anointed song, his faith in Jesus, his being part of a Christian band, and when he was finally able to forgive his abusive father how it impacted his life.  It's a moving story, should be in a cinema near you, although timings and number of showing are often limited.

I found it incredible that I heard about the film reminding me of the song just when I needed it.  In July,  I and a thousand people around the world, were contending in prayer for the life of an radiant, anointed and lovely young woman, a talented worship leader and songwriter who was battling against cancer.  

We wouldn’t be writers if we didn’t have the ability to imagine, and despite the limited capacity of our minds it’s a wonderful gift to be able to stretch our faith and get glimpses of heaven.  There is nothing I enjoy more than writing about the Lord and His love.  And with the Holy Spirit giving us the ability to connect to God, we can take His Word in Romans that  'God gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were....Against all hope...'! Jesus said, 'Ask and it shall be given to you' and we know, 'God can make all things possible'.  Yet the bottom line of our faith must always be: 'All things work together for God for those in Christ Jesus' .

Next month I shall be travelling in  Canada so have scheduled Part 2 of this.