From God comes…
From God comes His presence. Of course, God’s presence is everywhere (Psalm 139:7-12) However, when we surrender to Christ, we get the added bonus of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us (1 John 4:13). As we yield to God, His presence transforms us to be more like Him (2 Corinthians 3:17-18).
There may be times in our lives when we actually feel God’s presence. I’m reminded of the old hymn Surely the Prescence of the Lord Is in This Place. The lyrics say we can feel God’s power and grace. There have been times when I’ve sung this hymn with a multi-denominational group and actually felt God connecting us all.
Sometimes we do not feel God’s presence immediately. The scriptural passage that inspired this hymn is about Jacob awaking from an inspiriting dream and saying, “Surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it” (Genesis 28:16).
Sometimes we don’t feel it at all. Some Christians want a feeling instead of a relationship, so they search high and low for something that is already with them. People who base their relationship with Christ on their feelings, seldom have a stable Christian life. They have not learned that whether we feel it or not, God is with us. Whether we feel it or not, God loves us. Whether we feel it or not, God will never leave or forsake us.
The classic poem Footprints in the Sand illustrates this point. It is about a man who dreamed he was walking on the beach with God. He could see two sets of footprints in the sand. One belonged to him and one to the Lord. However, there were troublesome times in his life where he could only see one set of prints. When he asked God where He was when he needed Him most. God answers, “My dear child, during times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you!”
God’s presence helps us survive the storms of life. Most people don’t know that ships have a little gadget called a gyroscope. It helps stabilize the vessel and keep it on an even keel even though storms are raging. That is what God’s presence does in our lives. When the storms of life begin to rock our boats, God’s presence keeps us stable so we can have peace.
When Jacob realized God’s presence was in that place, he said, “How awesome is this place!” (Genesis 28:17). How awesome that we have God’s presence with us all the time, whether we feel it or not!
“Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God…”
~James 1:17 (NLT)
