Being Aware of God's Presence

Psalm 139:7–12 NIV84

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

In this passage the psalmist expresses the wonder of God being present wherever he may go.

Jim Cymbala says, “If we don’t want to experience God’s closeness here on earth, why would we want to go to heaven, anyway? He is the center of everything there. If we don’t enjoy being in his presence here and now, then heaven would not be heaven for us. Why would he send anyone there who doesn’t long for him passionately here on earth?”

Another psalm expresses it this way:

Psalm 84:2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

God is present

Everywhere

The highest heights and deepest depths

The furthest east and west

For those who do not know God this would be a scary thought, but for God’s children it is a source of comfort and strength.

In the OT especially in the tabernacle/Temple

Exodus 25:8 (NIV84)

Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.

Visible as a cloud by day and pillar of fire by night

In Jesus

John 14:11 NIV84

Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.

In believers

Benefits of knowing God’s presence

Rest

Exodus 33:14 The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Guidance

Psalm 139:10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

Protection

Isaiah 43:2 NIV84

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

Knowing God’s presence

A very busy mother went into her room one day at twilight to write a letter. She sat at her desk absorbed in filling page after page of notepaper. After some time she heard a sigh close at hand and turning her head, she saw her little son cuddled up in an armchair. “Why, sonny, how long have you been there?” she asked. “All the time, mamma,” he said, “but you have been too busy to notice me.” Ask God how long He has been with us, and He will say, All the time; His presence undiscovered because even the Christian people have been too busy to notice the fact—busy with their own affairs, and losing sight of the presence of God.

It takes time and practice to be aware of God’s presence in the midst of our busy lives. We may not see Him but He is here.

Jacqueline was an elderly woman who lived to take care of her daughter, who was wheelchair bound. When her daughter died, Jacqueline not only lost her purpose for living, she lost her living companion. Her cottage in the country seemed as empty as an eggshell. Occasionally a friend would call or a note would arrive, but most of her time was spent in oppressive, ongoing solitude. Her health didn’t allow her to circulate very much, and her best friends were now all in heaven.

One day Jacqueline’s Bible opened to Philippians 4:5 and four words struck her forcibly: “The Lord is near.” If so, thought Jacqueline, I should be more aware of it.

“Lord,” she said, “I’m going to pretend you’re here all the time. No, forgive me for using that word; there is no pretending to be done. I’m going to use my God-given imagination to visualize how very present You really are. Help me ever remind myself of the reality of Your nearness.”

That evening as she retired, she said, “I’m going on to bed now, Lord. Will You please watch over me as I sleep.” The next morning on awakening, she said, “Good morning, Lord. This is the day You have made.” Sitting down with her hot tea, she read through the book of Philippians again, underlining verse 5, then she prayed aloud for a very long time. At noon, she said, “Now, Lord, let’s watch the news on television, so you can show me things in this world I can pray for.” Jacqueline and the Lord watched the news together, then she prayed for flood victims in the Delta, a newly-installed president in an African country, and for a man sentenced to life imprisonment.

At supper, she bowed her head and thanked the Lord for her food, but she didn’t feel her prayers were traveling up to heaven. She felt instead she was talking to someone sitting across the table from her.

Gradually her attitude was transformed. The loneliness lessened, her joy increased, her fears diminished, and she never afterwards felt she was alone in the house. Jacqueline was learning how to abide in the Presence.

Seek His face

Do what He says

Philippians 4:9 NIV84

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

1 John 3:18–19 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence

Gather together

Matthew 18:20 (NIV84)

For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.

Especially when we come together around the Lord’s table He is here.