When you walk into Joan's home for 2+ hours of prayer and worship, you embrace a cloud of God's love and peace. Joan loves Jesus. Her demeanor preaches His grace. Her words are laced with His fragrance. This faithful daughter of God leads Women Abide, a gathering of women who intercede, worship and glorify the Lord. The Women Abide conferences are held in Charlottesville, Virginia. With pleasure, I introduce to you my friend, Joan.
One Thing by Joan HutterOne thing I ask of the Lord. This will I seek: That I would dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His presence. Psalm 27:4
One thing. Just one. To see beauty.
Not man-made, nor even His created beauty. But to see Him. To
behold Him. Our man in glory seated on
the throne. Our man in joy resurrected, made
known.
David, the man after God’s own heart—the shepherd-boy-harpist-praying-Psalmist,
anointed as king—desired only one thing.
He longed to remain in the presence of God, abiding in the shadow of His
wings … that He would behold the beauty of the Lord.
He didn’t want to miss God. He wanted to see, to delight Himself in the Lord, to
contemplate His glory, majesty, wisdom, holiness, mercy. He couldn’t get enough of beholding. Seeing with the eyes of
His heart.
Blessed are the pure
in heart, they will see God. Matthew 5:8
When we behold Him … allowing Him to fill our entire being …
we become like Him. We become the ones we were made to be. When we see the beauty of God, desire for
every other thing fades. He is altogether lovely. One taste and we see and know
He is good. There is no one like Him in mercy, love, kindness, holiness and
truth. He is delightful and when we delight in Him we are satisfied to the
depths. He satisfies every desire. When we behold the beauty of the Lord Jesus we’re
undone.
We lay everything aside. Remove all hindrances, all
distractions. Fix our eyes on Jesus. Behold the Lamb on the throne. The King
who is and was and is to come.
We want more of Him. We
consider His open heart, open door, living way by His blood. We marvel at His
desire for us and respond with deeper pursuit, willing surrender. As a deer
pants, our hearts beat for Him. We long for Him in a dry and weary land and
when we behold Him there is no settling for another thing, vision, person,
purpose, love.
He is all-consuming. He is all-encompassing. He is all in all.
Pleasing is the
fragrance of Your perfume, Lord Jesus. Your name is like fine oil poured forth.
No wonder we love you. Song 1:3
I want to behold the beauty of the Lord, to abide in His
presence all the days of my life, to gaze upon His eyes so pure, to breathe in
the fragrance of His life, to know His love immeasurable, joy unspeakable,
peace beyond understanding.
To gaze upon Him. To behold.
We all seek beauty. We build our lives and days after the
pursuit of beauty. We were made for beauty.
But we settle for less. We are too easily satisfied.
God made us to behold Him. He created our hearts to gaze
upon His glory… with our whole being.
More beautiful than glowing dawn after bitter darkness, more
peaceful than quiet waters reflecting aspens and daffodils. More vibrant than
flames dancing on wood, the crackle of evergreen branches folding into another
manger season.
To behold life … and the flames of fire in the eyes of the
son of man … to encounter meekness and a life surrendered for love … to gaze
upon a heart abandoned in love and overflowing with joy … to know light upon
light as he draws us near … to sense the gentle breezes of His presence walking
in the garden of our hearts.
Beauty He is.
Full of grace and truth. Filling us as we behold. There is no one like Him. And no place else I want to be.
Full of grace and truth. Filling us as we behold. There is no one like Him. And no place else I want to be.
May He fill your vision with Himself. May He fill your heart and satisfy every desire. And may you be consumed with the pursuit of beauty. Desiring Him alone.
He first desires us. Pursues us with relentless love –
unending, unfailing, undeterred, uninhibited, undaunted, undistracted …
love. Here we find our meaning. We were made to behold Beauty.
He is our One Thing.
You can read about the ministry God gave Joan here: http://womenabide.com/
To read about how the love of God was demonstrated at the 2013 Women Abide conference, click here:
http://womenabide.com/what-does-revival-look-like/
(I was there...it was totally amazing! - Tina)
You can read about the ministry God gave Joan here: http://womenabide.com/
To read about how the love of God was demonstrated at the 2013 Women Abide conference, click here:
http://womenabide.com/what-does-revival-look-like/
(I was there...it was totally amazing! - Tina)
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