I wish there were words wonderful enough to describe the joy of waking up to God’s Presence and love. I have the joy of participating in 3 small groups with people whose desire is to grow closer to God. We share. We pray. We are lifted up by both. In our MidWeek Encounter the expression “Kissed by God” to describe those moments when you feel God’s love touching you, describes so beautifully this morning in our Friday morning prayer group and in reading Numbers 24. In our prayer group this morning we were encouraged to Mindfulness. I realized in my own prayer afterward that God surrounds us with things too beautiful to take in, but drink them in anyway! When we are mindful and present in moments, we live them with God. Together with God we can live our life. Are we facing illness? Are we worried? Are we seeing the beauty He created and sharing that excitement with Him? Moments that can be shared with God and in that sharing with Him become richer, deeper, more satisfying because we are awake to His Presence loving us.

That’s what happened to Balaam. He was a sorcerer. I cringe at that word and all it implies. God reminded me this morning to suspend judgment. Is God in control? Then I don’t need to fear and judge what I don’t understand. Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not resort to divination as at other times, but turned his face toward the wilderness. When Balaam looked out and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came on him and he spoke his message: “The prophecy of Balaam son of Beor, the prophecy of one whose eye sees clearly, the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened: How beautiful are your tents, Jacob, your dwelling places, Israel!” v. 1-5.

Balaam looked out upon the encampment of the people and he experienced what God saw and spoke through him. What God saw…the beauty of a peaceful camp of His children. Can you imagine how Balaam felt in that moment? He went on to continue prophesying including A star will come out of Jacob, a scepter will rise out of Israel. v. 17. (Matthew 2:1-2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” {Num. 24:7}).

This morning reading Hearing God: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2.

When we open our hearts to God, we experience His loving guidance and there is such peace with Him. Our minds can be renewed with the good that God does even in the midst of the patterns of this world. Stop judging and see with God’s heart all that He has made and that it is good! As we begin to yearn for God our hearts open. We see what we couldn’t see before. We begin to share our hopes, our burdens, our fears, our joys and in doing that we find we are not living our lives only within ourselves but we are living our lives with Him who loves us. As we do that we wake up! Our lives are meant to be shared with He who created us. Don’t ever be afraid to share everything with God. He knows. We look at people and judge. He looks at us and loves. Wake up to His love for you and live with Him mindful and grateful. These moments with Him are too good to be missed!