LINGER

“Our real and all-surpassing sweetness”

Augustine

The bee is splashed with nectar, hovering on my passionflower, gathering the sweetness. He lingers there longer than I can stay because I am in pre-holiday chaos, wondering why I am incapable of packing light.

It takes time to linger. It takes time to gather the sweetness of God’s presence.

Joshua in the Old Testament stood out because he succeeded where others failed, he entered the Promised Land whilst others died in the wilderness.

What was his secret?

He lingered with God.

Exodus 33:11 tells us that Moses met face to face with God and then, when the day was over, he went to bed. Fair enough. But the young Joshua lingered. He would not leave the tent.

I wonder what your life looks like this month ahead. For many of us, it is a slower season, one that offers time to linger. Maybe you will literally be in a tent. Let it remind you of Joshua refusing to leave the Lord’s presence, gathering God’s presence like nectar.

My dog, Gilby, is good at just about every command bar one – “Settle!” When new people arrive, he paces around and it’s only when he knows them that he settles. He reminds me of me. When I first think about spending time with God, just about anything can distract me.

But if I can just take that first step of drawing near, turning my heart to Jesus, then I catch a taste of the sweetness of the presence of God and I don’t want to leave. I understand what the Psalmist means when he says he quietens and settles his soul like a well-fed child with his mother, settled with God (Psalm 131).

Holidays can become just another form of busyness or they can be holy days, a gift of time to linger with God. 

May you know the surpassing sweetness of the presence of God this summer.