David wrote, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence (Ps 139:7)? Through Jeremiah, God confirmed no such place exists. “Am I a God who is near,” declares the Lord, “And not a God far off? “Can a man hide himself in hiding places So I do not see him”(23:23, 24)? One cardinal attribute of God is His omnipresence, meaning He is everywhere at once. He has zero spatial limitations. We do not experience an awareness of this aspect of His presence. This is a truth we accept by faith. A second aspect is His manifest presence when the Lord makes Himself known. It becomes clear and convincing He is with us. Sadly, a study by George Barna concluded that fourteen percent of adult believers say they have never experienced God’s presence. Add to that, people who limit encountering His presence as an event taking place only within the church.
Traditions and ignorance lead us to such misconceptions. Scripture assures that the Lord longs for us to have encounters with Him. Seek the Lord and the strength he gives. Seek his presence continually (Psa 105:4 NET). The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there are any who understand, Who seek after God (Psa 14:2). The Hebrew word for ‘presence’ literally means ‘face’. Hebraic thinking indicates this means having access to God and a presence before his face. The locations and ways believers experience His manifest presence varies. Without this understanding, we can overlook God’s attempt to reveal Himself in our daily life.
Note a few examples. Moses was going about his daily work tending his father-in-law’s sheep, certainly not expecting an encounter with the Lord. Then a burning bush caught his attention. This was not an uncommon occurrence in the wilderness; however, the flames weren’t consuming this bush. At first, Moses thought it was merely a marvelous sight. But as he approached, God called to him from the midst of the bush (Ex 3:4). After forty years away from Egypt, the Lord manifests Himself to commission Moses to lead Israel out of bondage.
Elijah provides an example of someone who had limited God’s manifestations to a loud, showy display. After he killed the prophets of Baal and Jezebel threatened to kill him, Elijah was afraid, got up and fled for his life. After forty days of travel, Elijah entered a cave at Mt. Horeb, the same place or near where Moses experienced God’s glory. The Lord would manifest His presence but not in the way Elijah thought. A very powerful wind went before the Lord, digging into the mountain and causing landslides, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the windstorm there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a soft whisper (vs 11, 12 NET). Elijah instantly knew this soft whisper, still small voice (KJV), gentle blowing (NASV) was God and wrapped his face in his mantle. The lesson for us is we can miss His presence if we limit His manifestation too loud, emotional, and dramatic experiences.
Jesus manifested who He was through miracles, healings, and raising people from the dead. He also revealed His greatness in the everyday events of His disciple’s lives. Early in Jesus’ ministry, He came to Peter who had fished all night but caught nothing. He was washing his nets, preparing to go home. Jesus came and told him “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch” (Lk 5:4). Peter as an experienced fisherman thought he was wasting his time, but to appease Jesus he put down one net. They enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their net began to break. This communicated to Peter. He recognized Jesus was not an ordinary man. He fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man” (v8).
The third aspect of God’s presence is His indwelling or covenant presence. Through the Holy Spirit, He dwells in our hearts forever. I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever (Joh 14:16). But there are also seasons when we have absolutely no indications of His presence. Often, we refer to them as ‘dry spells’. It seems He has left. David who wrote “Where shall I go from your Spirit? also cried out, My God, my God, why have You forsaken me (Ps 22:1)? When going through these times, we must rest in faith, He is the omnipresent God and made a covenant through Christ that His presence is dwelling in us and He never leaves or forsakes us.
In those times we have no awareness of His presence in our lives, we bring glory to His name when in faith we praise Him and continually seek His presence. Known or unknown, He is working in the smallest details of our life—even in this time of world crisis.Stop limiting His manifest presence to places and feelings.
Sustaining Word for the Week: “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord. God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.