Basking in God's Presence

"Let's just take a moment to focus on God. Just cast aside any distractions and bask in His presence for a moment." So saith the worship leader. And the following paragraph is what I wrote while I was supposed to be closing my eyes to the people around me in order to focus on God. Um, if the Holy Spirit is indwelling, and we're all there worshipping together as one body, and God says to love Him by loving others, shouldn't focusing on God have something to do with connecting with each other somehow? If I want to meditate in solitude, I'll go in my bedroom, not to church with 100 other people…

Basking in God's presence in corporate worship for me is not closing my eyes and meditating on God. It's communal. It's the joy of seeing an old friend walk in who hasn't been to church for months. It's appreciating the beauty in the harmony of the voices around me. It's also the loss I feel at noticing the people who aren't there. Even my criticism of and annoyance with the things I don't like is a part of me focusing on God. No to say that a critical spirit is of the Lord because it's not, but it is part of what I bring to Him. I don't just cast it aside because then it is still there – it is just being ignored. Rather, I bring it to God along with my praise, and I allow Him to remove and obliterate my critical distractions.