Lingering

“When he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham.” Genesis 17:22

Sunset last night was spectacular, the array of clouds making for an ever-changing masterpiece. The colors burned in all their glory as the sun slid down. Many watchers leave right as the orange-hot ball disappears, fire in water, into the Gulf, but it is the afterglow (the after show) that leaves me breathless. Contrasts deepen—pinks become red, pale clouds gun-metal, the wide water ink with glistening surf, and the vibrant display broadens to fill the west from north to south. Even the eastern sky reflects the rouge. All the heavens declare their Maker’s beauty!

Sunrise is the same, in reverse. While the actual gold-white blaze popping up is a glory to behold, the prelude is not to be missed. The moments ahead, as dawn heralds its regal king’s arrival, are most beautiful. Indigo slowly blushes violet then periwinkle, swaths of cloud begin deep shadow grey before inverting to white as pink orange rules the horizon, pulling back the curtain on the monarch of the day.

Lingering, so difficult to make ourselves do, brings the greatest gifts.

“And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.” Genesis 18:33

Am I tardy in arriving, or do I get up and leave before God is finished speaking to me? What urgent task takes precedence over getting equipped to handle it? Do I consider my time and services indispensable to others, but not time with my God as indispensable to me? How often do I determine the limits and miss His best part, the sweetest of His intended communion with me?

Lord, teach me daily to linger, to come early in anticipation, to be still on my face, to lift up my eyes and look, and to stay and listen until You are finished speaking. (Genesis 17:3; 18:2)