Living In The Presence of God

 “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).
       A brother was teaching in a Bible Study that a man who has Christ has everything. In the same breath, he added that to make a mark in this generation, one must have money and influence. He concluded that who you know matters, as it opens doors to wealth for as many as are diligent. To this brother, standing in the Presence of reputable and influential men will open doors of wealth to his congregants. Sadly, this is the dilemma of many within the Body of Christ: the desire to eat from the table of God and, at the same time, feed from the table of the world (1 Corinthians 10:21-22). 
       The statement of the brother sounds true but is able to lead a man away from the LORD Jesus Christ. He started well but veered off because of the lust for the things of the world. Yes, we do need the things the world provides, but the principles behind them, if allowed to capture our hearts, have the power to steal our hearts from God. The belief that we need these things side by side with our need for God has made many to believe Jesus Christ with their lips, but their hearts are far from Him. They pay lip service to: "But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides"(Matthew 6:33, AMPC). 
       The need for the necessities that will make life easier has made many to love the things of the world more than they love God. This is an age-old problem and a dangerous one: to think one can eat from the table of God and balance it with the table of the world: "Or do we want to make the Lord jealous? Do we think that we are stronger than He"(1Corinthians 10:22, GNT)? The Bible tells us: "You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God" (Ephesians 2:2, NLT). If we have renounced the world, its systems, and its way of doing things, we no longer live under the influence of the Presence of the devil but now live in the PRESENCE OF GOD.
       Sadly, many within the Body still struggle with this. No wonder the Psalmist asked: "How can a young man keep his way pure..." (Psalm 119: 9a)? This question is important, and how we answer determines whose Presence we live in and whose Table we feed from. And we were told: "By keeping Your word, I have sought You with all my heart; don't let me wander from Your commands. I have treasured Your word in my heart so that I may not sin against You" (Psalm 119: 9b-11). Jesus went further to show us how important God's word is to our living. He told the devil: "...It is written, Man shall not live and be sustained by (on) bread alone but by every word and expression of God" (Luke 4:4, AMPC). 

       The things of the world and from the table of the world may look good, but they cannot sustain man. In fact, they are designed to dull the senses of man and lead him completely away from God (Daniel 1). Beloved, when God created the trees and all vegetation, He spoke to the ground to bring forth vegetation and fruit-bearing trees. When He was going to create the living creatures and fishes in the seas, He spoke to the waters to bring forth the living creatures. When He was going to create man, He spoke to Himself. This is why when you remove the vegetation and all trees from the land, they die. If you remove the fishes and all sea creatures from their habitat, they die. Humans know this! Why then is it difficult for man to understand that without God he cannot live? 

       We see this play out with Moses in the wilderness. When the LORD told Moses that His Presence would no longer go with the children of Israel because of their sin, Moses knew that was like taking a fish out of its habitat. It becomes fair game to every predator. Moses pleaded with the LORD not to send them on the journey without His Presence. He understood the power in living and operating in the Presence of God. The Presence of God is the natural habitat of man. In Him we have everything: "for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring’ ” (Acts 17:28). In Him is the foundation of everything. In fact, in His Presence all things consist. Hence the saying that He that has the LORD Jesus Christ has everything. 

       You may seek His blessing, provision, mercy, grace, etc. It is the Presence of God that makes everything worthwhile. It is His Presence that distinguishes us from others: "And Moses said to the Lord, If Your Presence does not go with us, do not carry us up from here! For by what shall it be known that I and Your people have found favor in Your sight? Is it not in Your going with us so that we are distinguished, I and Your people, from all the other people upon the face of the earth” (Exodus 33:15-16, AMPC)? Psalm 91 is all about a man who dwells in the Presence of God. 

       Beloved, if there is one thing we must ask of the LORD, it is His Presence. Everything you seek is found in His Presence. Outside of His Presence is strife, madness and a theatre of self, as we saw with the life of King Saul! Like Moses, we must hold on to the LORD and declare that "...If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here"! The distinction you desire cannot be found anywhere else but in His Presence. Remember to seek Him first; all that you desire, according to His will, will be added to you. 

May the LORD grant us the grace to remain rooted in His Presence, in Jesus Christ name, Amen. God bless you!