In this moment of my life, I cannot express how grateful I am for access to God’s presence, the privilege of just being there, or being able to carry His presence everywhere. In my opinion, after the gift of salvation and the Holy Spirit, access to God’s presence is such a priceless gift He has given us.
When unsure of what to do, or unsure of how to go about the next step, or when you even know the next step to take but do not have the boldness or strength to go on, basking in God’s presence helps a lot. You know just like soaking in a bathtub or just staying under the shower helps you with de-stressing and rejuvenating the body so does staying in God’s presence help with our spirits, soul, and mind.(Let us keep in mind that when our spirits thrive so does our body(Provers 17:22). Although we may not be able to see all that happens in real-time as we bask in His presence but a lot of things happen. The more time we spend in His presence, the more we are transformed into the image of Christ, and the more we are transformed to be what God would have us be – full of boldness, sound mind, and His love ( II Timothy 1:7)
A study of the account of God’s children in Judges 20 somewhat sheds light on drawing strength from God’s presence for me at this moment. Hence, I would be sharing some things that I saw from the study of Judges 20. God’s children were faced with a decision and a battle to take on or not. Given this challenging task ahead of them, the bible tells us that the concerned tribes gathered together in the presence of the Lord at Mizpah – Judges 20:1. They first gathered there to deliberate on the unspeakable rape and murder case that had been incited by men from the tribe of Benjamin. They requested for the evil men to be released for the judgment that they deserved but the tribe of Benjamin refused to release them and responded with war. This reaction must have thrown the other tribes off balance; how can a tribe harbor and encourage raping a woman, another man’s wife to death!!.
Considering how this may have looked back in the day, the Israelites who feared God and detested evil went back to God’s presence to ask Him for directions in going to war against the Benjamites (Judges 20:18). And God told them what to do but something that I find interesting is that the war did not go in favor of the men who had asked God for directions(Judges 20:21). You know one would think that since God had told them what to do, they would come out victorious but that wasn’t the case. This defeat alone could discourage any man and perhaps weaken one’s faith in the Lord. But this is what they did, “they took their positions at the same place where they had fought the previous day- Judges 20:22″.
You would agree with me that humanly speaking going back to the same spot of defeat the very next day may be almost impossible. God had spoken to them, given them direction but they were sent back in defeat and shame. I probably would ask the Lord some questions and probably struggle with doubt for a bit. But these beautiful children of the Lord went back to the Lord, wept, asked God for more direction, and stayed in God’s presence till evening – Judges 20:23. Here laid the strength and secret of these men of God. Because they had basked in the presence of God all evening, they were able to draw strength there, and encourage themselves in the Lord for the battle yet again.
God’s presence is heaven on earth, words may not be enough to describe what it feels like but words can try to explain the benefits. Overall, I am telling you that God’s presence is best experienced firsthand and it should not be a one-off thing. How can you access His presence you may ask me, well the first step is to become His child or become friends with Him. The only way to do that is to come back to Him, decide to live for Him, and confess that He is Lord over your life. You should say the prayers here if you want to join the family.
To my friends already in the fold, as a gentle reminder – the easiest way to access God’s presence is a life of worship, a life continuously postured in the worship of the father. Because our dear father lives in worship of His children – Psalm 22:3. With that said, intentional quality time spent with the father gives us access to Him. Studying His word, praying, and worshipping Him gives us this access. As I write this, I cannot help but think about King David who regardless of how busy he must have been still found time to worship the Lord in Spirit and truth. He first-hand experienced God’s presence over and over and it was evident that he did not want out.
So my dear brother and sister, be reminded of God’s presence from where you can draw strength again and again.
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