nyssa ariel

Right now I’m enjoying my Saturday evening by listening to some good music. Included in a long list of music I have been listening to this evening is U2. I probably haven’t listened to these guys in months. I used to list them first in my top favourite bands… and they still are my favourite… no one comes close. But I’ve been distracted these past few months with new music, new bands, new artists. These others are good, but they are truly no comparison to U2 in my opinion. When people have asked me in recent days about what kind of music I listen to, I don’t list U2 as my number one. I do mention them, but only after I have already mentioned the new and more relevant artists… trying to stay with the times. I don’t think that I am selling out by listening to these new bands (as some would say listening to U2 is selling out), but I’m not staying true to my ‘roots’. I’m missing out on something indescribable. Some might think I’m crazy, but when I listen to certain songs of theirs, it is as if I’m experiencing God… maybe I am. I forgot about my love for them by not listening to them, by not experiencing their music.

As I listen to where the streets have no name, I have made the connection between this and my relationship with God. When I am not actively experiencing the Lord through His Holy Spirit and when I am not actively pursuing Him, I begin to forget. I begin to forget about how incredible He is and His unfailing love and grace. When I am not fully focused on Him I begin to loose sight. I get distracted by the other exciting things happening around me. Not that these other things are bad in any way, but if I am not careful, they can become a distraction in the way of me seeing the Lord. When I am not fully focused on the Lord, I get disillusioned into thinking that He is not as great as He actually is. I begin to forget about His unfailing love and the incredible grace that He has poured out on us.

This forgetfulness can be reversed though. Through spending time with Him… through experiencing His presence we can be brought back to a place where we can be in true active communion with Him once again. We can continually be mindful of His presence and power. Just like how I was reminded of the greatness of U2 through experiencing their music once again, I have been reminded of God’s greatness and love through spending time with Him. Through experiencing His presence, I am excited about serving Him and living for Him once again. It might be a stretch to connect my love for U2 with my relationship with God, but these are simply my thoughts of the evening.