God's Presence - God Is

God's Presence

As a Christian, the spiritual fact is, I am in God and God is in me. My responsibility is to abide in God, remain in Him, and dwell in Him as my home. The issue of such a living in the divine Trinity is the presence of the Lord. 

In the Old Testament, Moses had the promise of God's presence going with him; he desired the presence of God to the extent that he would not do anything without the Lord's presence.

Now therefore if I have found favor in Your sight, please let me know now Your ways, that I may know You, so that I may continue to find favor in Your sight. Consider also that this nation is Your people. And He said, My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest. And he said to Him, If Your presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. Exodus 33:13-15

There definitely is a difference between God's going and God's presence. It is one thing to have God's blessing and Him doing many things for us yet without His presence. God's presence is His smile, His delight, His being one with us in everything and not merely He doing things for us or on our behalf. If one has God's presence, he definitely will also have God. Here is the thin line between God and God's presence. Many may be satisfied with the former, God's blessing and helping hands, but not God's presence, His smile, His will, and His delight in everything. To enjoy the joy of God's presence, the one key condition is to abide in Him, remain in Him, and dwell in Him as our home. 

God's presence is my need in everything. The children of God in the past were led by the presence of God in the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire, which today is the presence of the Lord in the Spirit and the Word of God. These are the practical ways one can enjoy God's presence. While things are bright and normal, the Spirit typified by the cloud during the day is sufficient. Whereas when the situation is dark and negative, still the leading of the Lord can be felt through God's presence in the Word.  This is to live in the divine Trinity.

God Is

But without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to Him, for he who comes forward to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.  Hebrews 11:6

To believe that God is, is to believe that He is everything to us and that we are nothing—John 8:58; Eccl. 1:2. To believe that God is implies that we are not; He must be the only One, the unique One, in everything, and we must be nothing in everything—Heb. 11:5; Gen. 5:22-24.

As we enjoy God's presence, we must also realize who God is; not merely doctrinally only. God is everything, many confess that either religiously or out of fake humility. But to realize indeed that God is everything is yet another matter. The Lord has been merciful to help me realize that God is indeed everything and that I am nothing and I can do nothing.

In the past, I have used statements like, "God is everything, I am nothing." But deep within me, I still believe that I was still something and that I needed God when I needed His help. Which means, I still could do something of my own. That's why I was very jealous to labor for the Lord. Well, it must be good for me at that time to experience the Lord in such a way. In fact, that only ushered and brought me to the point of realization that, all that I thought I could do resulted only in failures and shame. Yes, I mean it. All that I could do with all my strength, even perhaps with the help of God, were just failures and shame. I had not experienced the death of my "self", my "natural man." There had been much mixture of myself with that of God.  Now, by the Lord's mercy, my eyes have been opened and I am beginning to see who I really am. I am NOTHING, and I mean it. GOD is EVERYTHING and I believe in it.

As I reconsidered my service in the church, one particular thing striking is, all that I thought I could do resulted only in failures. What I thought began well ended up nowhere, especially in taking care of some new ones. I could see clearly where I lagged behind; I need God to be everything in all things and that I am nothing, Therefore, I must believe that God is and I am not. Praise the Lord!