Lent Day 4: Wrapped-Up

“God, your wrap-around presence is my protection, and my defense…” Psalm 7:10 (The Passion Translation)

I see a theme emerging this Lenten season.  I sense the Holy Spirit whispering words like:

Comforter

tucked into

pocket

And today I am adding “wrapped-up” to that list.  These are not new words but I feel that a deeper meaning is on the horizon. God is drawing us up gently into His lap to sit for awhile and breathe.  He wants to tell us stories and give us fresh revelation. He wants us to just let Him be Daddy, reminding some and showing others for the very first time what a Good Good Father He really is.

When we hear the word “wrapped-up”, what comes to mind?

This is what I see:

Hands cupping warm coffee

My babies swaddled for the very first time

A lazy Sunday on a pallet, quilts,  watching movies with my husband

Sitting by a bonfire, blankets, socks, smores and toboggans

jalapeno poppers, a little slice of hot heaven wrapped in bacon

a gift, before the content is uncovered

watching a nurse cover my mama, the colder she got before Jesus walked her Home

dancing with the land-line chord, while talking on the phone as a teenager

beach towels, salty skin, boat rides and aloe

baby shampoo, powder and lotion anointing the infant in the hooded terrycloth ducky robe

hugs, of all kinds:

greetings, goodbyes, and grief

love, laughter and loneliness

the side-half hug, the full frontal hug and the surprise behind bear hug

parents, children, and spouse

familiar, fast, and flirty

awkward, anticipated and an answered prayer

and

my most recent favorite thing, my Barefoot Dreams cardigan, it’s like being enveloped by a cloud!

I associate being “wrapped-up” with comfort, safety and goodness. When I think of God the Father, Jesus, the Son, and Holy Spirit, the Comforter, I am grateful for the wrap-around Presence being my protection and my defense.

Some people associate “wrapped-up” with constraint and their knee jerk reaction to a wrap-around presence is to stiffen, recoil or run. They think of words like:

shackles

straight jacket

swamped

tangled

over worked and over worried

oppression

heavy

paralysis

burial clothes

Our perception of God determines the way we respond to Him.  If we hear wrap-around presence and we see Him as a demanding dictator and not a doting Daddy, we will most likely go rigid, recoil and run.

If we have experienced God as our Comforter, we will hear wrap-around presence and immediately picture the doting Daddy.  We will relax, receive and rest.

May we pause in God’s Presence now and tell Him what we really think of when we think of HIM. HE already knows but HE delights in the conversation with us anyway.

If we are honest and tell God we see Him as constrainer or demanding dictator, He is patient and gentle and will take the time to show us that His yoke is easy and His burden is light.  He will never force an opinion but He will give us opportunities to really see and know Him, if we search for Him with all our hearts.

All of us have broken filters. We see God through human eyes and our own personal experiences. Even if our honesty reveals that we perceive God as comforter or doting daddy, we are still not even scratching the surface of His goodness:

“God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

Glory to God in the church!
Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!
Glory down all the generations!
Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!” Eph. 3:20 MSG

We went to see “The Shack” last night.  I read the book several years ago and it was a game changer.  It is one of the most beautiful stories of forgiveness and healing in the face of unspeakable tragedy.  The Trinity is painted in vibrant colors, displaying the joy, peace, patience, compassion, playfulness, wholeness and truthfulness of God.  Although a work of fiction, I see the evidence of the most fabulous Creator in each artistic display. God was  a shapeshifter for Mac, to connect with his heart in just the right places at just the right time; the Holy Spirit collected Mac’s tears and planted a “beautiful mess” of a garden alongside a disillusioned daddy and Jesus met Mac in the place of his greatest pain and compassionately said, “Follow me.”

***I don’t want to give away any more but I do encourage you to go see the film and read the book:)

The way God was depicted in this film gave me a visual and a new language for how I have experienced Him throughout my life.  I know Him as Comforter, bottling my tears through the years from terrible mistakes, unforeseen trauma, and heart wrenching loss. I have experienced Him as the “shapeshifter”, God showing up through the extended hand of a loving friend, the unconditional love of an earthly father, the patience of another mother, and the eyes of a husband who always saw potential over present mess. I have walked with the man, Jesus, who met me in the place of greatest pain, whispering, “Follow me” and I did.

I do!

I want to “wrap-up” this post about being “wrapped-up” with this additional love note in The Passion Translation of the Psalms:

“But let them all be glad, those who turn aside to hide themselves in you. May they keep shouting for joy forever! Overshadow them in your presence as they sing and rejoice, then every lover of your name will burst forth with endless joy.

Lord, how wonderfully you bless the righteous. Your favor wraps around each one and covers them under your canopy of kindness and joy.” Psalm 5:11-12 TPT

As Lent continues, may we continue to seek Jesus alongside one another, resting in the “wrapped-up” moments and sharing His wrap-around presence with everyone we meet!