God's Presence

In the presence of Jehovah God Almighty,

Prince of Peace troubles vanish,

hearts are mended. In the presence of the King

Cathy Goddard

Throughout my life I have been overwhelmed with the subject of God's presence. From a very young age I was taught that God is omnipresent, meaning that He is everywhere. That is clear in the Bible.

Think about all of the places people met with God: on a mountain, on the sea, in the desert, in the furnace, in a lion’s den, at the bottom of an empty well, in front of a burning bush, in the Temple, in a

tent, in a garden, in a dream, in trouble, at a wedding, at homes, at dinner, in the sky, in the heavens. He was seen, heard and felt. From the first verse of the Genesis to the last verse of Revelation "He is here"!

This truth has always been a source of comfort to me, and rightly so. Knowing that God is always with me is my source of strength, my comfort, my peace and my hope. Last week, my brother made a comment. He said something like, "As I walk through life, in every situation I feel like mom's voice and presence is there and that keeps me from doing things that she taught me not to do as a child."

Then it hit me like a two by four, I've often practiced the presence of God very one dimensionally. I've soaked in the comforting aspect of His presence in my life, but I have only grazed the other aspect of His presence.

When God "came near" throughout history, people not only got comforted, they fell down as dead men. If we, if I truly understood what it means that God is with me 24/7 how different would my life be?

Have I been so enamored with the God of peace and comfort that I've forgotten the God in whose presence one cannot be in without the fear of death?

What difference should this make in our worship and in our moment by moment lives? After Easter we will take a journey together and see what being in God's presence really looks like. Hold on, it might look very different than you've always thought and lived.

Blessings, MJ