Have We Messed up the Whole Presence of God Thing - Part 2

Part 2 of 3
Have We Messed Up the Whole “Presence of God” Thing?
I don’t Feel God, What’s Wrong?

In The first article I looked at the issue of God’s presence as a visitation or a habitation. In the second part we want to look at the issue of being in God’s presence when we don’t feel it.

 Not feeling the presence of God does not mean we are not in the presence of God all the time – Just that we are more aware of it at times, and others, not so much.  Our experience has dictated our theology – which is never good.  Consider the clear word of God. In Psalm 139 (Message Bible), David cries out:

“Is there any place I can go to avoid your Spirit? to be out of your sight? If I climb to the sky, you're there! If I go underground, you're there! If I flew on morning's wings to the far western horizon, you’d find me in a minute— you're already there waiting! Then I said to myself, "Oh, he even sees me in the dark! At night I'm immersed in the light!" It's a fact: darkness isn't dark to you; night and day, darkness and light, they're all the same to you.”

Paul picks up this thought in Romans 9, when he says we don’t ascend to heaven to bring God down, nor descend to hell to Bring Christ up.  He is near always.  He isn’t somewhere else needing to show up.  In Ephesians 4:6 Paul put it this way.  “Now this, He ascended, what is it but that he also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.”

The book of Hebrews says Christ ever lives to make intercession for us according to the will of God.  He doesn’t only do that when we consciously ask Him to – but perhaps especially when we aren’t all that conscious of Him in our lives.

If the universe is filled with Christ, there is no place where you or I could go not to be in His presence. This ought to be a sobering thought for two reasons.  The first is that you and I can’t hide from God – Adam tried it and it didn’t work for him. Sooner or later – if you are a child of God – God will call you out.  “Adam, where are you?” It is a fact that some Christians try to hide from God by not going to church, while others try to hide from God in church.  Are you hiding from God for some reason?  If so, God is calling your name right now.

The second sobering thought is that God really does see all -- bad and good!  He sees your sacrifice and your motives – which might have been ignored or questioned by others.  He sees your heart and soul.  He sees how hard you try, even when you fail. He knows you inside and out – and He still loves you.  Gaining a proper understanding of the absolute presence of God will bring a release in our lives in many ways.  One you understand that the presence of God in your life is not based on your good performance, it frees you to walk with God in a greater measure than ever before.

This is particularly relevant with the power of God in and through our lives. We make the same mistake with the “anointing.”  We tend to believe the “anointing” comes and goes in our lives.  It does not.

“But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you….”  I John 2:27

The anointing does not come and go in your life.  It ABIDES!  This is because the anointing is not something you put on and take off- or something that God gives and takes.  The Anointing is the HOLY SPIRIT.  He does not come and go, He lives in you 24/7/365.  This means that when I go to a store, God goes to that store.  When I enter the hospital, God enters the hospital.  You and I are carriers of the Anointing – The Holy Spirit.  That means you can, at any time and in any place, allow the Holy Spirit to move in and through you. 

Most definitely there are times when we can feel the presence of God in more tangible ways.  Most definitely we see God more powerfully at certain times than at others.  However, is it Him not being present or is it us, not being aware of and placing our faith in His presence?

The idea that I somehow must be worthy of that anointing is a mistake we have made for years.  The Gifts of God (Romans 12, I Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4) that manifest His power in and through believers are just that – GIFTS.  Undeserved. Unearned. Unmerited in any way.  For if it is anything other than freely given and freely received it immediately ceases to be a gift.

The significant truth of this article is that God does not come and go in our lives.  The Holy Spirit Abides.  Jesus said, “I will never leave or forsake you.”  Acknowledging God’s ever-present-ness releases us from a performance-based view and causes us to understand that God is at work in and through our lives all the time.  Sometimes we are more aware of it than others, but the more we are aware, the more things get done.

(Keep reading Article three inthe Series: Have We Messed Up the Whole “Presence of God” Thing?)