We usually start the week in a hurry: tasks, meetings, pending activities and, of course, stress, but I would like to invite you to pause and take a deep breath. Imagine you're in a sunny spot, it may be the moment you wake up on a vacation day. The sun shines through the window and bathes your face. Or maybe you're on a beach. There's no better place to be. The waves crash on the shore, the clarity of the sun twinkling as it reflects off the water. Wherever you are, enjoy the sun's rays and experience its warm glow. Can you feel it?

Being in God's presence is more comforting than a day of vacation. In it we find peace, rest and the renewal of our strength. God's presence is like sunlight… soothing, restoring, and peace-bringing, but you don't need to be on vacation to experience it. You can enjoy the joy of our heavenly Father wherever you are today.

In the presence of God there is an indescribable beauty. In it we can feel how he restores our soul. However, we live in a world that tries to rob us of that beauty. As followers of Jesus, we are called to navigate this tension, but above all, we must learn to live from the security and peace of our relationship with God in environments filled with brokenness and confusion.

God's presence is one of the greatest and most profound blessings in all of Scripture, and that blessing is for you today. If we want to thrive in the midst of this overwhelming world, we need to frequently remember God's affirmations to us.

So, before we ponder on our worries this week, let's focus on God, Him alone, right here and right now. Jesus is the only one who can take your burden and make it lighter. Jesus is the only one who can take your deepest anxiety and replace it with an even deeper peace. Jesus is the only one who can bless us and keep us, no matter how chaotic life may seem.

God looks at you with pleasure and extends His love to you. God gives you peace. The Hebrew word for peace is shalom and implies much more than the "lack of conflict." What it truly means is total well-being, and that's God's gift to you and me.

As we begin this week, I invite you to reflect on all that God's presence brings into your life. His presence is transformative; it is like a sunny day for your soul.

Suggested Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for your immense love. Thank you for looking at me with pleasure, extending your favor to me, and filling me with peace. Lord, your love surrounds me. It’s like a ray of sunshine in the midst of darkness. I love you my God. I pray that each day I’ll long more to be in your presence, to converse with you, to know you, and that in times of stress, tension, or brokenness, I can hold on to you as my Eternal Rock. In Jesus' name, Amen.

1. Numbers 6:22-26 (NIV).

Today's Encounter was written by: Rosina N.