I Can Only Imagine

My favorite song, "I Can Only Imagine", won the award for Song of the Year at the Dove Awards, 2002. Songwriter/Singer Bart Millard of the group, Mercy Me won the award. I was so excited. It is a wonderful song that always stirs my heart.

In the song, the thought is presented that we "can only imagine" what it will be like when we stand before God. As I listened to the song on the radio, I envisioned myself in heaven. I was standing in the middle of a large crowd of people that were all facing Jesus, who was standing in front of His throne. I started jumping up and down waving my hands because I wanted Jesus to see me. I knew there was no way He could see all of us. But there I was with my little 5'3'' self, jumping up and down, waving my hands like a schoolgirl, trying to get God's attention. (Well, I guess I know now what I would do if I ever get that close to God. There would not be that quiet, shy, "nothing to say" thing going on. I would be too excited.)

Then all of a sudden, I felt God speak to my heart. He spoke to me, and I felt His presence. I saw a bright light shine over me at the very spot where I was standing (ok, jumping). He said He was with me and He made me feel like I was the only one there. His presence was so sweet. I knew I was so important to Him. I felt His awesome love for me.

He knows how to make each of us feel special; as if we are the only ones around. Even in the crowd, I felt like He saw only me. And yet the people beside me felt the same way. God's presence is so powerfully wonderful. It brings us into a oneness with God that cannot be explained and barely fathomed.

I can only imagine. What about you? Can you see yourself smiling in the face of God? Can you laugh with great joy knowing God loves you so much that others seem to disappear? Imagine it, because it's real.

"And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life." (1 John 5:20 ESV)

Copyright © Martha Noebel, used with permission.