His Presence!

Psalm 73 is all about a person’s journey from the every day disappointments of life into the presence of God where everything, once again, is at peace and makes some sort of sense. I have over the years referred many to this Psalm as folk were working with sheer discouragement and anxiousness in the face of every day trials that just do not seem to quit. The presence of our Lord, even in the Old Testament, is an awesome thing. It is not a “mental” thing, but one must use the mind/will/emotions to be open to experience this awesome presence. He comes to us, individually and corporately to refresh and ignite our hearts in Him. 

Individually, I know you have often experienced Him becoming present to you as you read the Word and talked with Him – just the two of you. He dwells within us, so making this known to us is simply at our choosing. The purposeful, conscious awareness that the breath of God is in us and He has come to experience our day in Him is such rest. There is another dimension of presence, when we gather in fellowship with others to experience belonging in Him together. This “corporate presence” (for lack of any other suitable term) is only experienced in fellowship with others. It is not only “knowable,” in the fact that you know He is present, it is experienced together. Some never let go into Him to experience this essence of life. Worries, cares, criticalness, intellectually based religion, all of these and many more items get in the way. But He is always with us individually, so when we gather as believers, He is present in each – hence a “corporate presence” much beyond and different from our individual experiences. He is so gracious! To experience this “presence” is to allow the Lord to “right” our world. It was available, even in the Old Testament, so how much more to us as blood-bought Sons of Almighty God! Enjoy Him as you live your moments today.