The Joy of Simply Being Present

I remember the joy of coming to children’s ministry on Wednesday nights when I was a kid. I certainly didn’t understand everything that was happening around me. I didn’t know all that went into preparing the lessons, planning the activities, getting everyone where they needed to be, or making sure everything ran the way it was supposed to. I just knew I was glad to be there. Being there meant I would be seeing friends, playing games, eating, laughing, and learning about Jesus. I wasn’t sitting there thinking about everything that had happened that week or everything that needed to happen the next day. I was a kid—I was just happy to be present.

As adults, I think we lose some of that. We walk into a room physically, but our minds can still be somewhere else. We’re thinking about what happened at work, what needs to get done tomorrow, the bill that needs to be paid, the conversation we’re worried about, or the problem we haven’t figured out yet. We can be present without really being present.

But there’s something about being present with God that brings us back to the joy we were meant to have. Psalm 16:11 says, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” I love that the Psalm doesn’t tell us that joy is found in finally getting everything figured out. It doesn’t say joy comes when every problem is solved, every question is answered, or every responsibility is finished. It tells us that there is fullness of joy in the presence of God.

Maybe there are things happening in your life right now that you don’t understand. Maybe you’re worried about what comes next. Maybe life has simply gotten so busy that somewhere along the way you’ve lost some of your joy. Come back into the presence of God. Pray. Worship. Open his Word. Be around his people. Sometimes we need to stop trying to figure everything out long enough to simply enjoy the God who is already with us.

And one of the great gifts God has given us is that we don’t have to do that alone. Each week we have opportunities to gather together, learn his Word, encourage one another, and simply enjoy being in the presence of God and his people. So I want to invite you to be here with us. Come join us for our midweek programming on Wednesday nights, and make being here for Sunday School and worship on Sunday mornings a priority as well. Bring your children, bring your family, invite a friend, and come expecting God to work. You may not know everything God is doing or what he has planned next—and that’s okay. Sometimes there is great joy in simply showing up and being present.

See you here,

William