November 10

When a king’s face brightens, there is life; his favor is like a rain cloud in spring. — Prov 16:15 BSB

What is religion without a living faith in and love for the Lord Jesus Christ? How dull, dry, and burdensome it becomes when the heart isn’t engaged and the affections aren’t stirred! Reading, hearing, praying, meditating, and even fellowship with other believers all feel empty and heartless when Jesus isn’t present. But when He appears—when His presence and grace are felt—and His Spirit moves on the heart, worship takes on a holy sweetness, and communion with Him feels like a little taste of heaven on earth.

It’s this awareness of the blessing of His presence and the misery of His absence, the joy of His smile and the sorrow of His frown, that drives Christ’s sheep to seek communion with Him. He’s captured their hearts by showing them His beauty and love. Having once seen His glory, heard the sweetness of His voice, and tasted His grace, they follow Him wherever He leads, longing to know Him and the power of His resurrection, and counting everything else as worthless compared to the chance to know Him more deeply and experience His love.

What sustains the soul through trials and temptations, eases the doubts that trouble us, removes the fear of death that haunts us, subdues the rebelliousness that condemns us, pulls us away from the world’s temptations, and lifts our eyes beyond the passing cares of life to the eternal realities that await us? It’s those sweet visitations from the Lord, when He draws near and gives us communion with Himself. This is how the saints of old were led and taught, as the Holy Spirit has recorded in Scripture. One remembered those visitations and said, "Your visitation has preserved my spirit." Another, longing for a renewal, cried out, "When will you come to me?" And when experiencing His presence, the Church joyfully declared, "He brought me to the banquet hall, and His banner over me was love."