We Have Yawned in the Presence of God

When I was a kid I thought one of the coolest things in the world would be to be an athletic trainer for the Minnesota Timberwolves. The reason being, that its athletic trainers, perhaps even more so than the coaches of the team, who get the chance to be nearest to the players. They get to tape the ankles, stretch the muscles, chat and hang out with the guys many have to settle for only ever seeing through a tv screen.

I remember thinking that, and I also remember the day I stopped thinking that. I was at a Timberwolves game, surrounded by thousands of others who had driven long distances and paid good money to watch these players, from a distance. That’s where I was, and that’s where I saw the athletic trainers for the team, out on the court with these players – stretching their muscles and taping their ankles – all the while looking woefully, mournfully, bored.

They had gotten close to these guys, closer than most, but the more they saw of them, the less impressive they had become.

As Christians, we are out of all the people of the world closest to God. Citizens of his kingdom, members of his household, friends of God — we possess a nearness to God unthinkable, and unimaginable, to many. And yet, if the world were to look in, see our day-to-day dealing with God, they might draw a similar conclusion that I did that day at the Wolves game — these people are bored. They have yawned in the presence of their God.

God is a consuming fire. A day with him is better than a thousand elsewhere. All of heaven bows at the sound of his voice, the entire world stands or falls at his command, the nations are to him like a drop in a bucket, and he turns the hearts of kings like water in his hand.

And yet, we’re often not eager to meet with Him in the morning. Often not thinking to converse with him at night. Often wanting to be other places, doing other things, with other people, than simply being before him. We who have been welcomed near to God give off the impression that he is unimpressive.

Brothers and sisters, we want to be clear that there is nothing mundane about being in the presence of our God. We want to confirm that there is nothing humdrum about drawing near to the Lord. Our God is a consuming fire, he is deserving of acceptable worship, with reverence and awe. And we want the world to know that if they have seen in us a lack of zeal about our God, the problem is not God, it is us. We are a people of unclean lips, we dwell amongst a people of unclean lips, and our hearts are desperately sick. And this reminds us of our need to confess our sins.

So Father we confess, that terribly, but truthfully, our hearts are often unmoved in your presence. Unimpressed. Disinterested. To even utter such a thing out loud feels like a death sentence, but it isn’t. It isn’t because you have invited us, by the blood of Jesus, to draw near before you with sins even as serious as these, to confess and ask forgiveness. So we do, right now, we bring before you all the ways we’ve sinned in this last week. All the ways we’ve fallen short. We bring them before you now in this moment of silent confession.