The Presence of God

When we profess our belief in Christ, and ask Him for forgiveness of our sins, we begin a lifelong journey to know God. One of the aspects of that journey is to discover, for ourselves, how the presence of God is manifested in our lives. As a lifelong member of the Assemblies of God denomination, I have been exposed to nearly every manifestation of God's presence, except rattlesnake handling. :) In my eagerness to pursue God, I have attended many church services where a wide variety of manifestations have been present. I have also spent many hours watching videos of services from around the world. Being "slain in the Spirit", shaking, dancing, looking for angel feathers or gold dust falling from the ceiling, hearing words being given for individual people, or groups of people, prophetic banner waving, and many more. I've watched ministers blow on people, throw their jackets at them, and urge people to do things they supposedly couldn't do before they came to a service, all in the name of experiencing the presence of God.

I must admit that when I was in the moment of some of these kinds of services, it was very exciting. There have been times in churches where I have served on the staff, that we had extended weeks of services where unusual things happened. We looked with anticipation for God's move, every time we gathered together. But alas, those times eventually ended, and with it, the anticipation of what might happen next.

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that the last two years have been a journey through very deep water. In the midst of this, my longing for the presence of God has not diminished, but the focus has changed. The first thing that noticed was how often God began manifesting His presence to me through His Word. Even when I was reading a predefined Bible reading plan, it has been uncanny how many times the scriptures have spoken directly to me, at exactly the right time. What this has created is a love for God's Word that is growing in intensity day by day. The other thing I have noticed is that God reveals Himself to me in gentle, yet powerful ways. While I still have an interest in some of the more public manifestations that take place, I have discovered God's presence in ways that I might not have just two years ago. For instance, over the July 4 weekend, we attended St. John Lutheran church in St. Louis. We attended this church for over a year in 2011 and 2012. For a die hard Assembly of God boy, this was a radical departure in worship form. However, over the time we were there, I experienced God's presence in many ways that would have never happened in an AG church. On this particular Sunday, I had two powerful, personal manifestations of God's presence. The first was when we began to recite the Apostle's Creed as a congregation. As I spoke the words, I believe in God the Father, Almighty... I was completely overcome with the presence of God. I could only whisper the rest of the creed, as I struggled to maintain my composure. At that moment, God truly revealed Himself to me. The same thing happened as we prepared to receive Communion. As I stood in line ready to move to where the elements were being served, the presence of God descended on me, and let me know in a powerful way that He loved me, cared about me, and was with me. When it's all said and done, I think I prefer this kind of manifestation of God's presence in my life. Quiet, but powerful. Personal, and very real.

Flying To Safety

I had a very interesting experience this morning as I sat outside on our patio on a beautiful summer morning. I was reading my July 4 One Year Bible portion and having my first cup of coffee. I was distracted by the sound of two birds chirping rather loudly near by, and as I looked up, I could see them pecking at each other as they flew near me. As I watched them, one of the birds flew right down to the patio and came within 2' of my feet. The other bird started to come after him/her (I don't know much about bird anatomy) and then seemingly thought better of it and flew off. After a few moments, and apparently making sure the other bird was gone, the bird by my feet flew off in another direction. Fight over, no damage done. It took me a moment to realize what had happened. Even though birds are usually afraid of humans, this bird used this fear  in his adversary to his advantage and wound up in a safe place. Kind of like playing "tag" as kids, and having a "home base." I was the home base for my feathered friend. Even though we couldn't communicate, I think, as the bird flew off, he might have thought, "I'm glad that guy was there for me."

As I thought about this later, I realized that many times in our lives we exhaust ourselves fighting battles that we could overcome if we stopped fighting and headed for Home Base. Now I realize that Home Base is not one of the Scriptural names for God, but there are plenty of others that fit the bill for the kind of fights we get into. Jehovah Jireh, our provider for the fights we have with worry and fear over our economic situations. Jehovah Shalom, when we cannot find peace in the midst of our fighting, with family or friends, or co-workers. Jehovah Nissi, the God who brings victory in the midst of the fight, for those times when it doesn't seem like there is any "light at the end of the tunnel." Jehovah Rophi, the God who heals, when there doesn't appear to be an end to the illness we are fighting. And the list goes on. If you are fighting a fight today that you can't seem to win, step back. Find Home Base. Run to Him. You are safe.