Don't Get Used to Him

By Pastor Justin Cooper

I drive four hours to West Virginia to see my family. There's nothing special about that ranch house. It's wood and shingles, a recliner in the living room, and a footstool my dad kicks up whenever the family is gathered. That's the trip.

But I make it every time. The structure doesn't pull me. The presence does.

I think about that when I read Psalm 132 verse 7 — "We will go into his tabernacles: we will worship at his footstool."

Listen. The footstool isn't a fancy place. In Bible times, the footstool was where you came close. Where you knelt down. Where the king rested his feet because he was at home. David is saying — when God is in the house, that's where I want to be. Bowed low. Up close. At His feet.

You ever notice how easy it is to get used to something extraordinary?

Jonathan Edwards preached Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God in July of 1741, and revival broke out across New England. Church members got saved. People got right. The region caught fire. Then in April of 1742 — less than a year later — Edwards preached a follow-up message. He called it Keeping the Presence of God.

"It took less than a year for them to get used to God." — Pastor Justin Cooper

Y'all hear me? Less than a year.

That's how fast it slips. That's how fast you and I forget. That's how fast a church gets cold while still showing up on time.

So here's the next step. Not later. Today. Get right with God. Pastor Cooper said it from the pulpit on Sunday and it's still ringing — "Let me tell you how to have your best life now. Get right with God."

You and I don't keep the fire burning by trying harder. You and I keep it by drawing closer. Bow lower. Pray longer. Open your Bible like it actually matters — because it does.

Today, before your day starts swallowing you whole, kneel down somewhere. Living room floor. Truck seat. Bedroom. Doesn't matter where. Tell the Lord you don't want to be one of those people who gets used to Him. Tell Him you want to live the rest of this week, and the rest of your life, with His footstool close enough to bow at.

Don't drift. Draw near.

Don't recap. Return.

Don't settle. Pursue.