I Would Enter God’s Presence Now

ACIM Workbook Lesson 174 – for Thursday, June 23, 2011

Affirmation:  “God is but Love, and therefore so am I.”

“1.  Into His Presence would I enter now.

“2.  Today I learn to give as I receive.  (WB333)”

Reflections:

In our meditations today, let us enter into the Presence of God.  Let us realize that we will never be happy until we let Him take over.  His Will is actually our real will (a Text tenet).  Until we believe this, we will all too often feel like Jonah of the Old Testament, who tries to escape God’s will for him, and metaphorically ends up in a whale’s belly for three days.

We do not have to identify with Jonah.  We are not victims of a God who would jerk us around like puppets.  We choose His way as the real way that we would proceed.  The Holy Spirit interprets our will for us; we are often too caught in the ego to do so ourselves.

Giving and receiving are one.  What we give, we receive; what we receive, we need to give–if it is of love and not the ego.  This means that we do not retaliate in attack or anger.  We know that these negative actions are actually calls for help, and we offer help in the best way that we know.  God is Love, and we are also.  We are a part of God, though we do not often realize this.  We commune with Him when we go to the depths of our being.  We know the quiet that helps us to reach within.  And when we are sincere, and quiet enough, we join with Him in our daily meditations.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

I entertain Your presence throughout the day today.  Take my preoccupations with self away from the ego’s clutches, and help me to feel Your Being.  I need You today.  I need Your comfort.

Help me to be there for the others in my life.  Guide my prayers for the circle of brothers and sisters in this world who are outside my sphere.  Be with us all today.

Amen.