Presence

Have you ever had guests stay with you for a while – people you got on really well with – and after a week or so they leave? How do you feel? I know I sometimes experience an empty feeling – a feeling that something special has gone as their car pulled away and disappeared in the distance. That feeling can last a few hours – or perhaps a few days. Perhaps for some that sense of loss can last for months, or in some circumstances, even years. I meet a lady regularly who, when you ask her how she is, most often replies – I miss my father and my sister. For her the sense of loss and separation is an everyday pain. And the feeling of emptiness we sometimes experience can not only be explained on the physical level– for we can feel like that even when there are many other people surrounding us.

We feel such an absence most keenly of course in our emotions and in our spirit. But, for the most part – give it a day or two and the absence we felt so keenly has gone  and life gets back to normal. At another level we are sometimes surprised by such feelings – we have a sayings don’t we – you never know what you have until you loose it. In other words – at the time we may not have treasured the moments or days we spent with our friends – or perhaps our children – until the day they leave.

I sometimes think our relationship with God can become like that. It is possible that we become so used to our relationship with him that it becomes the norm and we never think of what life would be like without Him. Another tragedy is that many people have never truly experienced the friendship of God. Oh they may be religious – they may go to church – but know nothing of the real presence of God in their lives.

One of the things that strike me as I read through the Bible – is the very real fear people had when they considered loosing God’s presence in their lives. Very early on in the history of the human race one man, because he murdered his brother, was banished from God’s presence. And the banishment was considered by Cain to be one of his greatest punishments. He said to God – “My punishment is too great for me to bear!  You have banished me from the land and from your presence; you have made me a homeless wanderer. ” Genesis 4:13-15 (New Living Translation). David revealed one of his greatest fears in Psalm 51:11 when he wrote –   “Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.”

I wonder how we would feel today if God decided to banish us from his presence. Would we consider it as the ultimate punishment? I don’t know what Hell is – what is looks like – but I personally believe that the greatest pain of Hell is connected with banishment forever from the presence of God. You see to know God’s presence is to know God’s fellowship. And to know God’s fellowship is to truly know God!

One of the greatest privileges in the Old Testament was afforded to the Priests in relation to their fellowship with God. Speaking of the offerings that they were to make they are told in Exodus 29:42 - “Offer them in the Lord’s presence at the Tabernacle entrance; there I will meet with you and speak with you.” The presence of God goes hand in hand with the fellowship of God. And the amazing thing is – that this privilege is ours today. The Apostle Peter wrote to the early church – “And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God…. you are a chosen people. You are royal priests a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:5&9 (New Living Translation)

We are called to both enjoy the presence of God and to radiate his presence to others. The Church can operate on many levels as it seeks to reach out to the world in which it lives – and it is right and proper to do all we can do to attract people. But our overwhelming passion,in all we do, should be to introduce people to the presence of God. Why? Simple because His presence is the place of ultimate reality, joy and fulfilment in life. David says of God in Psalm 16:11 – “You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.”

One of the things we need to recognise is that the presence of God can be experienced on different levels. David, who so dreaded loosing the presence of God in his life, also said –in Psalm 139:7 – “I can never escape from your Spirit!  I can never get away from your presence!” And that is true because God is everywhere. All of us live, at one level, in the presence of God – whether we know it or not! But we can stand in the presence of the Queen – and yet not know her in an intimate way. Her intimate presence is known only by her husband and children and some chosen close friends. That is the kind of relationship in to which God invites us – in to the intimacy of his presence.

Paul uses an interesting analogy for the experience of the intimate presence of God. Writing to the early Church he says – “Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarrelling and jealousy. Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 13:13-14 (New Living Translation) Our clothes are the closest thing to our skin – yet our clothes are seen by others! This is a picture of both intimacy and example! Finally here are some Bible verses that speak of the way we live in the presence of God –

WE CAN LIVE BOLDLY

Ephesians 3:12 (New Living Translation)

• Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.

WE CAN LIVE JOYFULLY

1 Thessalonians 3:9 (New Living Translation)

• …. we have great joy as we enter God’s presence.

WE MUST LIVE HUMBLY

1 Corinthians 1:29 (New Living Translation)

• …. no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

WE MUST LIVE IN SINCERITY, BY FAITH AND WITH A CLEAR CONCIENCE

Hebrews 10:22 (New Living Translation)

• Let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

Steve Taylor