Present In The Presence of God
Time is like an invisible ruler of our lives. We go through each day governed by the movement of the sun in the sky. Morning, day and night, each hour demands an expectation and the months of each year roll by, calling for different seasons and even celebrations. Life for most of us is like a rapid, ever-flowing stream, passing from one endeavour to the next, one season to the next, with no distinct pauses in between. Despite all the demands of life, we should not forget about what matters most, knowing we have a loving and ever-present Creator who wants us to abide in His presence. God desires that we enjoy His goodness at every opportunity, and there is no better time to do so than in the present.
Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world. – Psalm 46:10, NLT
God is worthy of all our attention and worship. There is nothing beyond God’s control, and even in the unending busyness of life, He still maintains control over every second. It is to our own benefit that we acknowledge God’s sovereignty and that He works everything out in His perfect timing, as the scriptures say:
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. – Ecclesiastes 3:11, NIV
There is a comfort in accepting this truth about God, as it allows us to commit each day to Him, knowing He has already gone ahead of us. With this heart posture of surrender, we can be more intentional about meeting with God daily, prioritising His presence above anything else. This places us in step with the pace God desires for us, taking delight in the present moment and moving as the Holy Spirit leads us, neither lagging nor rushing ahead.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. – Galatians 5:25, ESV
While being present with God in the ‘now’ is what we should aim for, our natural tendencies to worry about the future can make it difficult. Like a juggling challenge, we can be torn between being present with God right now and trusting our future into His hands. However, we can also be comforted in knowing that the God of today is still the God of tomorrow, and He very much cares about our future.
The faithfulness of God is demonstrated in the Bible through the story of the Israelites and applies to all those who follow Him today. We witness many declarations of God’s faithfulness to His people, not only for that time but extending to many generations.
Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands. – Deuteronomy 7:9, NLT
This powerful declaration illustrates the great things that are to come for those who choose to love and obey God. With time, the never-ending faithfulness of God is only confirmed as we witness the fulfilment of His plans. Not only that, He makes a way to complete His plans through us so that even things starting from small beginnings can be transformed into great and marvellous things for His glory.
The smallest family will become a thousand people, and the tiniest group will become a mighty nation. At the right time, I, the LORD , will make it happen.” – Isaiah 60:22, NLT
As it applied to the Israelites, as His children, we can also be assured that God is very much aware of our future and desires to fulfil His Word through us. He is constantly working, moving and paving a way for us to reach our assigned destiny, which ultimately is to glorify Him with our lives.
So while we live in the present, we are simultaneously living with great expectancy for our God-ordained future. Still, it is in the everyday that we can choose to be obedient to this plan by showing our trust in Him right now, even before the promise is fulfilled.
God is in control, so why worry about tomorrow? Choose each day to be present with God, and the rest will be taken care of. Let’s remember the Words of Jesus, as He advises us in this timeless instruction of wisdom:
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. – Matthew 6:33-34, NLT
Recognising that worries about the future prevent us from enjoying God in the present can help us to be more intentional about how we live each day. A similar challenge to consider that can distract us from being fully present with God is in the waiting. Waiting is that space between the request, the prayers, the hope… and the outcome.
Waiting on God with the correct heart posture means displaying complete dependence on Him, allowing His purpose to unfold at the right time.
How often do we find ourselves consumed in the waiting that we miss what God is doing right now? Consider this: Is there something you are currently trusting God for? Your answer is likely yes. The humbling reality is that we are always waiting on God for something.
There will inevitably be another request, another prayer, and another hope we bring before our Lord. Not that there’s a limit on what we can bring before Him. God cares deeply about every detail of our lives, and we are in fact encouraged to bring our requests before Him in prayer and with thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6).
At the same time, the awareness of being in a constant state of waiting on God should only further reinforce the need to delight in His presence and in the present. It’s in the stillness of that space in between where we discover who God truly is and where we grow in patience, contentment and surrender. Every waiting period brings the opportunity to realise His faithfulness and to bring about our renewal. As the prophet Isaiah testifies:
But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. – Isaiah 40:31, NKJV
Waiting on God with the correct heart posture means displaying complete dependence on Him, allowing His purpose to unfold at the right time. This form of surrender provides a supernatural ability to overcome any natural tendencies towards impatience and anything that may cause us to doubt God, replacing it with patience and His enduring strength.
So while we wait, let’s remember the right place to be is in the presence of the Lord. We can be assured that in whatever we are waiting for, nothing can replace a heart that is placed in the hands of God. As we are encouraged again and again:
Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord! –Psalm 27:14, NKJV
We’ve explored how, in the context of the future and in the waiting, focusing on our worries can hinder us from enjoying God in the present. We can further discover finding joy with God right where we are by considering the ultimate form of anticipation, the promised future in Christ.
In the midst of our striving, we must not forget that we are in this world temporarily, so we should fix our thoughts on Jesus, the One whom we are waiting for to complete and perfect all things.
And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. – Philippians 1:6, NLT
As we wait for Jesus to fulfil the whole of the Word of God, we certainly don’t sit idle, anxiously waiting. Instead, we are active, confident that God will fulfil His promised future and desiring to play our part. Waiting on Jesus’ return with intentionality is the most proactive thing we can do in the present, as it leads us to take action by living to prepare the way for His return.
This involves being led by the Holy Spirit to shine the light and love of Jesus, blessing others and bearing fruit for the Kingdom of God. It’s living out the life God has called us to live with purpose while glorifying Him at all times.
There’s no place of greater fulfilment than in the presence of the Lord and through Jesus, the gap between man and God has been bridged, granting us full and unlimited access to the Most High. On the day of Jesus’ return, those who have accepted Him as Lord and Saviour can look forward to abiding in the presence of the Lord with everlasting joy. As expressed through King David:
You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. – Psalm 16:11, ESV
To conclude, we may seek to have control over our time, but nothing compares to the surrender of accepting God as ruler of our time. We can look forward to the day when our focus isn’t on what tomorrow will bring, but is consumed with taking delight in the goodness of the Lord. The finality of God’s working power will not come until the day of Jesus’ return. In the meantime, His presence is where God desires us to be, both now and in our eternal destiny.
May we all be intentional in abiding in the presence of the Lord, where His incomparable wonder is revealed. May we grow in confidence knowing that sitting at His feet is always right where we need to be. May we seek Him more and choose to be present in the presence of our good God, where we can admire His majesty and glory, forever and ever. Amen.
One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. – Psalm 27:4, ESV
