Perpetual Incense

I love waking up to a cool fall morning. After having a morning of quiet time and a cup of steaming hot tea, I venture outside to gaze upon the beautiful world. There is nothing that silences my heart like the calm of the morning. As my breath forms puffs of clouds around my face, my heart is drawn to the Lover of my soul. My heart is captivated by the wondrous creation all around me. I pause in amazement at the wonder of my God. Oh, how the cool air beckons me to, “be still, and know that [He] is God” (Ps. 46:10). In the quiet, as my heart reflects upon My Lord, it seems as if no one exists but Him and me.

There is nothing like intimacy with Christ. I have so often longed for companionship and closeness with someone that would always be near me. That is exactly what I have found in my Jesus! In all that I do, He is ever with me. There is not a thing that I have gone through, where He has ceased to be present. What is so much more than that, is that we are one. We have been joined together: He in me and I in Him!

I read a verse in Scripture that really stirred my heart. It was, “He shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD” (Exodus 30:8). When I read that I thought it was such a beautiful picture! The word that gripped and challenged my heart was the word perpetual. I began to study this concept a little more in depth.

The Hebrew word for perpetual is tamiyd (taw-meed)- constant, constantly, the regular, always, continual, evermore, perpetual (Strong's Exhaustive Concordance). The English Dictionary definition is, perpetual (per-pech-oo-uhl)- 1. Never ceasing; continuing forever in future time; destined to be eternal; as a perpetual covenant; a perpetual statute. 2. Continuing or continued without intermission; uninterrupted; as a perpetual stream; the perpetual action of the heart and arteries. 3. Permanent; fixed. 4. Everlasting; endless

(http://1828.mshaffer.com/d/word/perpetual). These definitions really challenged me.

Is there a perpetual incense flowing from my life to the throne room of God? Is there an uninterrupted stream of prayer, praise, and communion flowing from my heart to His? Is my union with Him so constant, continual, and regular that it is likened to the perpetual action of my heart and arteries as they work to pump blood throughout my body without me even having to think about it or work to make it take place?

I long to have this intimacy with my Lord! I long to have a perpetual incense rising from my heart! I long to be so united with Him that it is as subconscious as pumping blood through my body and breathing air into my lungs! I long that His life and presence within me would be so necessary for living, that it would be the perpetual action of my inner life to be joined to Him.

The most wonderful part about having this hunger and desire is that God is working this intimacy deeper within me with each day that passes! As time goes on, I only grow closer to my Lord! Practicing His presence every moment of everyday is becoming the natural state of my inner life. He truly fills all in all; He truly sustains me; He truly is my everything. May you join me on this journey of growing in intimacy with our matchless King, and may there be a perpetual incense flowing from each of our hearts, rising to the Throne Room of Heaven, delighting our Maker!

“And the smoke of the incense,

which came with the prayers of the saints,

ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.”

Revelation 8:4

Jesus, my Lord, I pray that prayers would be continually rising from my heart as a perpetual incense before Thee. Lord, let my life be so joined to yours that it would perpetually be the natural state of my inner life. Jesus, draw me even closer to Thee. Help me to know You even deeper. May my dependency upon You increase every moment of every day. You are what I need. Your life within me is my sustaining power. Jesus, fill me and perpetually flow out of me. I love You, my King. May I grow ever closer to Your heart. Amen