How To Dwell In God’s Presence

I personally do not think that the world round about us has seen as much chaos, wickedness, and darkness in times past. And I really do not think it would get any better with time or age; as far as the earth is concerned darkness would continue to increase in it – Isaiah 60:2. It is understandable that the devil would continuously pump out so much darkness as the end of time draws closer as he wants to kill, steal and destroy as many souls as he can. A great question one could ask in times like this may include: “where is the safest place to be?”, “where is the sanest place to be on this earth?” Truth be told, there is only one location that is safe and sane on this earth and that is in the presence of the Lord. God’s presence isn’t a church, neither is it a building or a group of people. God’s presence may surround us like an atmosphere or cloud over us or a spiritual garment over us. It pleases the Lord to overshadow us with His presence as He wants but it is up to us to decide to host or dwell in His presence continuously.

We can learn a thing or two from a great man who enjoyed and experienced the sanity and safety that comes from dwelling in God’s presence. His name was King David and how did he dwell in God’s presence?

He approached God’s throne with Clean Hands and a pure heart: In Psalm 24, King David writes so confidently about the Lord and his abode. He goes ahead to give us insight on the kinds of people that can ascend the Lord’s high and esteemed presence – He tells us only those who have clean hands and a pure heart. The hands as mentioned figuratively are the symbol of our actions and the heart is the seat of our thoughts where actions are conceived. This is a pointer to the fact that ascending and dwelling in God’s presence starts with genuine repentance from a lifestyle that harbors filth in thoughts and actions.

He Spent Good Time in God’s Word: “God’s word have I hid in my heart that I may not sin against Him”, said king David. Let us imagine the amount of effort and time it takes for one to memorize or keep God’s word in his heart to the extent that one doesn’t soil his or her hands and heart with filth. I imagine that for king David to arrive at this statement in Psalm 119:11, he must have spent so much time studying and memorizing God’s word.

The thing about spending time in God’s word is that it draws us nearer to Him, it is like spending time with a friend and getting to know that friend. And the Lord told us already in His word that as much as we draw near to Him, so will He draw near to us – James 4:8

He had a posture of Worship: Through the psalms written by King David, the posture of his heart and life towards the father is so glaring. We can clearly see how much he reverenced and adored the father. I believe that he exuded this demeanor not just in writing but also in living. I mean why else would God call him a man after His heart!

He Worshipped the Lord always: All of his poems are glazed with adoration of the father, in good times and bad times he was one to still worship the father. There was one time when he had prayed so hard for the father to save his son from death but still, the Lord took his son. Instead of wallowing in sorrow, king David worshipped the Lord as soon as he heard of the death of his son- 2 Samuel 12:16-23. King David definitely saw the unending beauty in the worship of the Lord, hence he worshipped always.

Ultimately to dwell in God’s presence there must be an acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ into one’s life. Because He is the sole administrator of God’s presence, He alone gives us access and makes it possible for us to access God’s presence non-stop – Ephesians 3:12. So if you have not said yes to my Jesus just yet, you should do so by saying the prayers here.

And to my brothers and sisters in Christ already dwelling, may we dwell in God’s presence til eternity in Jesus’ name. We would never be snatched away in Jesus’ name.