Meditating On God’s Presence

When we desire God, we naturally long to be in his presence. If my wife goes away on a trip, we can text, FaceTime, or call, but it’s not the same as being together. Somehow, hours and hours of virtual communication can mean less than sitting together saying nothing. Presence is unseen yet undeniable. When we are in the presence of someone we love, we feel different than when we are apart.

God is unseen. He is Spirit. However, he is not distant. 

Psalms 139:7 NIV says, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” The power of God’s presence through his Spirit is that there is nowhere we can go that he can’t be with us. While he is not physically present, he is close.

The truth is that God’s presence brings us closer to him than we may realize. For some, it is abstract, unclear, or confusing to try and identify God’s presence. When I’m in the presence of my wife, I feel something, but that feeling isn’t her presence. Her presence is her presence.

God’s presence is more than a feeling. It’s his personhood and his glory. We long to be closer to the Lord in this way. Even Jesus lived with this longing. Right before his crucifixion, he prayed in John 17:5 NIV, “And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”

God’s presence is eternal and glorious, and you are invited into it today. God desires to be near us more than we desire to be near him. His presence will be with us, but we often turn our backs or stand in the way. Sin, brokenness, deception, and fear keep us from opening up to God. There is hope. Surrender to God, ask him to help you find freedom, reach out to our team, and spend time in the Bible.

Let us live in his presence.