The Promise of His Presence
“You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.” Psalms 16:9 NLT
Is there anyone you just loved to be around? Is there a special someone you admire, someone who absolutely fills your emotional tank and makes you feel good about yourself? As a child, almost every one of us had that person we look up to. For me, that person was my granddad. I wanted to follow him around and go with him wherever he went. Being in his presence gave this little girl a feeling of joy,security and peace. Everything would be alright as long as granddad was with me. The day he died was one of the hardest days of my life. At 16 years old, I felt as though my world was collapsing. He is one of the first people I will look for in heaven after I spend time with Jesus.
I believe that is the way David felt about the LORD. Many of the Psalms written by David express his love, longing and dependence on His God. We find these psalms comforting in our times of struggles. We seek God’s presence when we can’t handle life by ourselves. But we forget that He is always with us. We can know His presence dwells within us in the good times also.
Here are some of the resources His presence provides for us all the time. We just need to seek Him and we will find that:
- There is fullness of joy in His presence. Psalms 16:11 “ You will make known to me the path of life; in your presence is fullness of joy.
- There are times of refreshing that comes from being in the presence of the LORD. Acts 3:19 “Therefore repent and turn so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord…”
- There is rest in His presence Exodus 33:14 “And He said, ‘My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.’ Then he (Moses) said to Him, ‘If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here’.
- There is a place of refuge and strength in His presence. Psalms 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
(From utmost.org. Oswald Chambers)
“Having the reality of God’s presence is not dependent on our being in a particular circumstance or place, but is only dependent on our determination to keep the Lord before us continually. Our problems arise when we refuse to place our trust in the reality of His presence. The experience the psalmist speaks of— “We will not fear, even though…” (Psalm 46:2)— will be ours once we are grounded on the truth of the reality of God’s presence, not just a simple awareness of it, but an understanding of the reality of it. Then we will exclaim, “He has been here all the time!” At critical moments in our lives it is necessary to ask God for guidance, but it should be unnecessary to be constantly saying, “Oh, Lord, direct me in this, and in that.” Of course He will, and in fact, He is doing it already! If our everyday decisions are not according to His will, He will press through them, bringing restraint to our spirit. Then we must be quiet and wait for the direction of His presence. www.Utmost.org
How do we come into His presence? We can’t see God, we can’t touch Him, but we can sense His presence as His children. He says he is with us. He will never leave us. He even sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts so that we might know Him in a personal way.
We can enter His presence when we show our gratitude. Psalms 95: 2-3. “Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving. Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the Lord is the great God and the great King above all gods.”
We are in His presence when we are serving as Jesus served.
Psalms 100:2-5 “Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with ,Thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name. For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting and His truth endures to all generations.
When we come to Him in faith believing and trusting in Him for forgiveness of our sin, He comes to dwell within us. He is always there. Psalms 51:10 “Create in Me a clean heart, O God and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.”
Psalms 145:18-19 “The LORD is near to all who call upon Him,to all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them.”
In Isaiah we read that he sends an angel of His presence to save us because of His love.
Is. 63:8-9 “ For He said, “Surely they are My people, sons who will not deal falsely.” So he became their Savior. In all their afflictions, He was afflicted and the angel of His Presence saved them; In His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bore them and carried the all the days of old.” Although this verse is referencing Israel, it is also true that Jesus died for all people. It was His love and His pity that redeemed us. We also are surrounded by his angel of
His Presence. We can rest in the assurance that we are safe and secure as children of God.
Our Savior is as close as the mention of His name. Just call to Jesus.
Prayer is our communication with the Lord.
Open your heart and come into His presence. There is fullness of joy.
Take some time today to bask in His Presence. Begin with prayer.
Father I ask that today you would show yourself strong on behalf of your people. Today Father I ask that you make me aware of your presence. May I feel your loving arms surrounding me as I worship, work and live for your today.
Now don’t rush off. Sit a moment and listen to this wonderful song that we bring you to the heart of God.
Music is God’s direct line to our spirit.
Now spend a minute thanking God for all He has done for us. Try not to ask for anything. Just enjoy what He will open up in your heart.
Bless you today.
Freda Reynolds
