[present perfect] chapter 7: the father is always working

Written by Jennifer Dukes Lee

I’m an Iowa farmer's wife and mama of two girls. You can find me writing about faith and family at Getting Down with Jesus and on Twitter at @dukeslee. I teach journalism at Dordt College and serve as Contributing Editor for High Calling Blogs.

July 21, 2010

Years ago, I used to think God was found under the steeple, at the communion rail, and in the liturgy.

And yes, of course, He is very much present in the church.

But oh, let me never again forget that He is also very much present in me – common, ordinary me. Our ever-present God is not demanding to be discovered at the altar on Sunday mornings. He can be found inside the miracle of me … and inside the miracle of you. Can you sense Him?

“Open you eyes right now and look. The one who is perfect love is alive in your room …”
– Gregory Boyd, author of Present Perfect: Finding God in the Now

This morning, I finished chapter seven of Boyd’s book. I double-underlined the chapter title: “The Father Is Always Working.”

Because He really is.

Indeed, ours is a God who does not slumber. He is awake to our every need, and He calls out to us: “Are you awake, too?”

When I awoke to this midsummer Iowa morning, those words rolled through my blurry subconscious: Are you awake? The words have been the repeated refrain of Boyd’s book. (He’s even added sticky-note reminders asking that same question throughout these pages.)

The question has been an alarm-clock for my soul.  Again this morning, I could answer the Sacred Alarm with these words on my lips: “Yes, Lord, I am awake. I am aware of your presence. And Father, keep me ever-mindful that you are near. You. Are. Here.”

Far too often, I have awakened to the groaning reminders of my to-do lists. As an active volunteer in my church, many of those responsibilities are directly related to the advancement of the Kingdom. Yet, it amazes me how quickly I can lose an awareness of God’s presence even while doing church-y things. I can be designing a Power Point presentation for worship, for instance, and completely forget about the Object of my worship because I’ve gotten myself all wrapped up in the font-size!

In the seventh chapter, Boyd once again reminds us that we can easily become consumed with the future and all of our “to-dos,” meanwhile missing the miracle of God’s presence now.

Boyd writes: “The most trivial circumstance and most insignificant moment becomes a sacred moment when we invite God into it.”

That means that God is at work in my every day – every single day. He’s engaged in the present moments of my ordinary life – playing Barbies with my daughters or washing the breakfast dishes — — as much He’s present at a Women of Faith conference. God is at work during tuck-ins and bedtime prayers, as powerfully as He’s at work during a tent revival.

And He’s calling me to wake up to His presence, to “bring his Kingdom into this moment.”

As I near the end of Boyd’s book, the challenge for me will be to remain ever-aware of God’s presence. Thankfully, as a mama of two, I have two God-attuned daughters to keep me mindful. They get what it means to be fully awake.

A few months ago, as we wrapped up bedtime prayers, I told our youngest: “Remember, Anna, you can pray to God any time, not just at supper or in bed. You can come to God wherever you are.”

She stopped me short: “Don’t say ‘we come to God.’”

“Why not?” I asked.

“Don’t say we come to God, because He’s always at us.”

Indeed, He is always at us. We don’t have to run to the altar or into the comfort of our religious rituals to find the Father working.

God is now. God is here. God is “at us.”

And I’ve got my eyes open. I’ve got to stay awake. For I don’t want to miss any miracles.

.

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12 Comments

  1. Duane2scott

    God is here.

    I can feel Him in this post.

    Reply
  2. Jennifer @ GDWJ

    Praise God.

    And Duane? Thanks for stopping and for sharing and for encouraging.

    Our God is the Now-God. He is the Alpha and the Omega — the first and the last — but also The Now.

    And oh … yes … He is here. Makes me sometimes wanna look over my shoulder, just to see if I can see.

    Reply
  3. jessegiglio

    Good stuff, love what your daughter said. Too often we speak of God as something we have to go to, or to get others to, when the reality of Jesus says he's here. He's at us.

    Reply
  4. @bibledude

    Thanks Duane! I know that a lot of prayer goes into this, so it's good to know that others pick up on it too…

    Always love to hear from you dude!

    Reply
  5. @bibledude

    Thank you for sharing your heart here Jennifer! This is a great post that really expresses the heart of the book… and The Father.

    Reply
  6. @bibledude

    I liked that part too! Kids always have a way of telling us how it really should be…. us adults always over complicate it with all our day-to-day 'stuff'… He is 'at' us!

    Reply
  7. A Simple Country Girl

    What a wonderful piece of not only writing, but of teaching. This is the first I have heard of the book, “Present Perfect.” Thank you both for this intriguing glimpse.

    Blessings.

    Reply
  8. A Simple Country Girl

    I am back…

    What is with the flat stomach deal up there? Do you think your readers have excess flab at the abs? Perhaps it is true, but I am not letting anyone do a pencil-sketch of me tucking and squeezing and what-notting…

    Blessings.

    Reply
  9. @bibledude

    I definitely agree! Jennifer has a great knack for sharing the heart of a message like this. I'm glad to have had her as a part of this project!

    Thanks for stopping by and sharing! And the book is definitely worthwhile….

    Reply
  10. @bibledude

    LOL… not sure that I've noticed that one before… I'm not sure how Google AdSense matched that one to the content of this site, but I've filtered it… not because it's 'bad', just not relevant. Thanks for pointing that out!

    Reply
  11. Jennifer@GDWJ

    Simple Country Girl — You crack me up.

    Reply
  12. Jennifer@GDWJ

    Thanks Dude! What an honor to be a part of your writing project. I've learned much from the reading of the book.

    Reply

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[present perfect] chapter 7: the father is always working

by Jennifer Dukes Lee time to read: 3 min
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