Can you smell that spring is in the air? Can you see any buds yet growing where your flowers usually are? Have you walked around your garden hoping to see new life? 
Refreshing our paths, cleaning out the weeds, digging around in the dirt are all things we get excited about in the presence of spring and newness of life.
There is a presence that is even better than all this and one we should nurture daily as we journey through life. This is the presence of God. How can we prepare our hearts to be in the presence of God and see growth in our lives?
SET A TIME TO MEET THE LORD
Every gardener knows that half the work is having a plan and setting it up. Sketch out that garden plot and decide where the seeds will go. Taking the first step to be in God’s presence means setting a consistent time to meet with Him. For me, that is first thing in the morning. It is quiet and I’m usually alone and can meet one on one with Him in His Word. When Moses came down from the mountain with the tablets of stone (the Ten Commandments) and saw the people not worshiping God but idols, he broke the tablets. Soon after, God instructed him to make them again and it was here we learn about Moses’ plan to be in the presence of God. In Exodus 34:2 we see God telling Moses, ”and be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount.” He had a set time to meet with God; a plan.
GET ALONE WITH THE LORD
Our garden sometimes needs us to not only have a plan started but to walk through the garden getting a sense of what needs to be done. I like doing this alone so I can focus on the tasks at hand. God further told Moses in verse 3, “and no man shall come up with thee,…” When we are going to enter into the presence of God each day, we need to come alone and come with respect. Flippancy is not an attractive quality when meeting with our Creator.
KEEP AN ACCOUNT
Do you keep notes on the plants you want to grow, where they need to be and how long until they are in bloom? The same can be said for our time with God. Write down a verse that speaks to you. Journal your adoration of Him and keep your thoughts in one place. Go to God expecting Him to do something for you. Moses worked his plan and set it in stone just like the first time God gave him the commandments. In verse 4 of Exodus 34 we read: “And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone.” Moses had a written plan.
WORSHIP THE LORD
I’m one of these people that walks around my plants talking to them. I encourage them to grow and tell them of their beauties. When we want to be fully invested in a passion for God we need to worship Him and let Him know we love Him and stand amazed at Who He is. Moses knew God and worshipped him. Exodus 34:5 shows us this. “And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.” To worship God we need to know Him as revealed in His Word.
CONFESS YOUR SINS
When we have the garden going and the plants are growing we have to get in and destroy the weeds. To have a heart passionate for God we must confess and forsake the sin in our lives. When we worship Him, first it should truly humble us to see our own sins and ask His forgiveness. Moses was asking in verse 9 for a pardon not only for him but for the people he was leading. Confessed sins gives us a peace. “And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.” Being in God’s presence should give us a desire for a clean heart.
OBSERVE WHAT YOU’VE LEARNED
As you watch your garden grow, you can observe the changes daily and be encouraged that you will soon see beautiful flowers or eat produce you have worked so hard to prepare. We see the product of our passion for gardening. It is the same when we take time to be in the presence of God and develop this passion. We can observe all He is doing and has done for us. Moses was able to observe so much that God did for His people. Exodus 34:11 reads, “Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.” God destroyed the enemy and did it for His people.
Passion to be in God’s presence does not come from a feeling but from having a plan, finding Him in His Word and worshipping Him there. How does your garden grow but with a plan that you execute? How will you get close to God but with a plan to meet Him in His Word? Grow today in your passion for God’s presence.
“…grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” II Peter 3:18
