…In HIS Presence
I welcome you all to year 2018.
Thanks to almighty God for counting us worthy to be among the living souls – Halle-lu-yah!
God’s mercies are indeed GREAT towards us and may his holy name be praised forever – Amen!
January 2018, is our month of ‘…in His Presence’. Presence as explained by ‘Google.com’ is the state or fact of existing, occurring, or being present in a place or thing.
It will be fallacious to think that our heavenly father whom we commonly refer to as our ‘Abba father’ has not been in existence before now; he has, and will always be – Isaiah 43:10b says: “before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me:”.God is and will forever be our God.
So, what do we mean by being in the presence of God? It is a refreshing time where God’s awesome, mighty and sovereign power is experienced. It is a self-encounter and personal experience with the trinity – father, son and holy spirit, an encounter that is life changing. Exodus 33 – records the life changing encounter that Moses had with God – He understood God’s sovereignty and that was the reason he asked for God’s presence to follow them. He requested that God’s presence should lead them for he knows that the almighty God will surely lead them aright and they will be victorious – “if Your presence will not go with us, do not send us”.
Moses was a man that understood how God is indispensable to mankind. Different bible scholars, have given accounts of how God’s sovereign power has triumphantly exalted the children of Israelites and everyone that had a personal relationship with him. In other words, to be in God’s presence, one must have an encounter with him.
…In his presence can be likened with experiencing God’s glory where the spirit also dwells – as read in the book of Exodus and 2 Chronicles that “the glory of God came down and filled the tabernacle that the priest could not do anything in the tabernacle because of the evidence of His power”. God’s presence is ever eminent.
We heard about how God prospered his own in the bible – from Jesus our savior and way maker to Samuel, David, Elisha, and Esther etc. The phrase …and ‘God was with him/her/them” is often seen in the bible whenever an account is being given of his beloved and chosen ones’. When the presence of God goes with you, favor, mercy and grace accompany it, and everyone will be at peace with you. The presence of God distinguishes you from the crowd. Certainly, our God is forever present and our present help even in times of trouble.
The Bible talks about Samson and King Saul, and how ‘…the Spirit of God’ left them because they both toiled with sin. Being in God’s presence, does not guarantee his permanency; for the spirit does not harbor a life of ungodliness and sinful life for he is too holy to behold iniquity. 1 Samuel 4: 21, “And she named the child, Ichabod, saying, the glory is departed from Israel…”.
Hence, it is essential to note that as we are in his presence, we should continually strive to live a holy life so that God’s spirit and indwelling does not depart from us and it is my prayer that we shall forever be in his presence in Jesus name – Amen!
Shallom!