The Presence Of God
Then He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the LORD’s presence.” At that moment, the LORD passed by. A great and mighty wind was tearing at the mountains and was shattering cliffs before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire there was a voice, a soft whisper. I Kings 19:11-12
Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10
Today it is common for people to run around seeking great and miraculous signs of God. They want an experience, something earth shaking, something bold and daring. Now, to say that God is not capable of showing Himself in such ways is naive at best. But so is insisting that if He does not show Himself in such ways then you’ve not been in the presence of The King. “Be still and know that I am God” wrote the psalmist. And often, that is what we must do. We need to step out of our busy world and take time to be still before the Lord, to hear “the still, small voice” speaking to us. Too many times we seek for God in a desperate, busy way – when He wants us to simply be still before Him. “Be angry and do not sin; on your bed, reflect in your heart and be still.” Psalm 4:4
Do you take time to seek God’s presence? Do you take time to listen to Him in silence?
And then we also often neglect to allow Him to be a part of our day. We get busy doing things and forget the Apostle’s admonition to “pray without ceasing”. When we take time to be still before the Lord we come to know that He is always at our side and even in the midst of activity He is tuned in to hear our thoughts and to prayers.
Praying is not just about getting on your knees or prostrating yourself before the Lord – although both postures have much to commend them to those who seek God’s presence. Praying is about being in communication with our Creator, about letting Him have a place in our busy lives. As you drive down the road or go about your daily chores you have ample opportunities to allow Him to be a part of your life. “Pray without ceasing” is about being in touch with YOU as a person and with GOD as your source of wisdom and strength. And too many times we do not allow Him room. We shut ourselves up in our busy lives, keeping our thoughts and emotions to ourselves – and don’t let Him in to help us through the tough times.
A friend wrote recently about some experiences he had. He was going through some tough and strenuous times and didn’t take time to take it to the Lord, much less to allow others to lift him up before God’s throne. Now, I mention this not as a criticism but as an illustration. He’s a great guy and the pastor of a church – but in the midst of stress forgot to take time to allow God in to help. And I can identify with him because I’ve “been there, done that, got the t-shirt” so to speak.
Recently a young woman was talking with my wife. She was feeling bad because she wasn’t having time in the morning to get onto her knees everyday like she felt she SHOULD – from the teaching she’d received in a certain religious group. And although she was using her bus ride to talk to the Lord about her life and family and job and such, she felt guilty. But she IS learning to practice the presence of God in her life. Over the past few months she has been learning to “let go and let God” – and her marriage and family show the effects. We’ve seen them go from separation on the way to divorce to a growing and maturing relationship. Thanks to her learning to “be still and know that God is there”. He has carried her through some tough times and has helped her to overcome difficult situations. It has been a pleasure to see her learn to make Him part of her life and not just a morning ritual to fulfill religious preconceptions.
The presence of God. There’s a time for worship, that’s for sure. But the idea that only during such times are we “truly in touch with God” is false – He wants to be a part of our lives on every level. He wants us to truly “pray without ceasing” – touching base with Him all through the day and allowing Him to help us through the tough times.
Now, to learn to truly put this all in practice consistently. That in itself tends to be a lifelong battle against my “macho” attitude of “I can do it all myself.”
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