The Stream of God’s Presence
We are continuing in our series on Supernatural Springs and this month our focus is on the Stream of God’s presence.
The question as always to begin:
How much quality time do you spend with God?
We may spend some time with God each day, but how much of that is real quality time?
Sometimes we can allow the busyness of daily life to crowd out quality time with God.
We can rush off a quick prayer, just glance through our daily devotional, read part of the bible without taking anything in.
If we really want to experience the presence of God in our lives we need to make the time to actually connect with Him.
The Author C.S. Lewis wrote, “The moment you wake up each morning, all your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists of shoving it all back, in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other, larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in.”
During a typical day we can allow life to crowd out time with God, or we can choose to spend real quality time with Him.
We all need to take an opportunity to step aside from the busyness of life and just be still in the presence of God.
In the fast, busy, do it now, instant world that we live in, we need to press pause, be still and pray.
Psalm 46:10 says: “Be still, and know that I am God!”
That’s good advice isn’t it. We need to avoid getting so caught up in our own agenda that we force God out of the way.
When we take the time to be still, when we take the time to pray, God listens.
God is always available, He is never too busy to listen, but too often we lose our focus, God is meant to be at the centre of our lives, not pushed to the side or ignored.
We need to be still and pray and draw near to Him.
We need to be a people of prayer.
We need to come before God with our thanks, our requests, our praise, our adoration, our confession of sin, our prayers for guidance.
We need to take the time to be still and pray.
We need to take the time to experience the presence of God in our lives.
It is said that prayer changes things, I believe prayer also changes the pray er, the person who prays.
In His presence we receive comfort,
we receive strength,
we receive peace,
we receive guidance.
Prayer must be central to our lives, we must never allow ourselves to be too busy to pray.
Our deepest needs are met by God through prayer.
Satan hates it when God’s people pray,
he is happy when we allow other things to get in the way so that we do not take the time to pray.
Maybe some people find it easier to act Christian than to spend time with God in prayer.
But God desires a real relationship with us.
We need to spend time talking to Him.
Quality time - not just thirty seconds here, or two minutes there.
Time with God is never wasted time.
We must make time for Him.
God wants us to pray to Him and meet with Him, He wants us to experience His presence in our lives.
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Has there ever been a time in your life when you felt as though God was not present?
Silence is something most of us aren’t comfortable with. Even 20-30 seconds of silence can seem like an eternity.
Has there ever been a time when it felt like God was silent?
Have you ever been in a situation where you called out to God, when you prayed because you desperately needed to sense His presence and hear His voice
but you felt as though He was absent?
If you can say, “Yes,” you’re not alone.
God’s own son, Jesus, had the same experience.
As he hung on a cross, he cried out, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?”
Why do you remain silent in the midst of my pain? Why are you silent when I need you the most?
Understanding God’s silence isn’t easy, because our tendency is to interpret the silence as indifference.
When we are in the midst of a crisis,
when we’re in the midst of making an important decision we can pray:
“God, help me make this decision.”
“God if you’ll only show me what to do, then I’ll do it.” “God, I need to know how to deal with this situation, please show me.” And... nothing – we get silence.
We don’t understand it, and it can be very frustrating.
Many of us have had the same or similar thoughts at different times in our lives.
We don’t fully understand the silence, it can frustrate us, but God uses the silence to draw us closer to Him.
To seek His face, to seek His presence, to seek His grace.
Our initial reaction, our initial focus is based on our perception that God is absent;
we assume that His silence in because He is not responding to our prayers,
but through the silence He draws us closer to Him.
Even in the silence there is a great revelation of the power and presence of God.
The challenge for us to to trust the One who has promised to never leave us or forsake us.
The challenge for us is to trust the One who says He knows the plans He has for us.
We need to interpret God’s silence in the correct way, He is not indifferent, He is not insensitive,
He is not callous, He IS bringing us to a deeper understanding of Him.
Looking back over the times when it felt like you couldn’t hear God, didn’t He prove His faithfullness in the end? Didn’t He prove that trusting in Him was the best way?
If you are a parent, you know that there comes a time in your relationship with your children when it is appropriate for you to remain silent.
Let me clarify that statement, for our children to develop and mature,
there are times when it is right and appropriate for them to work through some situations in life for themselves.
Our silence as parents is not an act of giving up, but rather a gift of love.
That’s not to say that our children will always make the right choices, none of us, young or old,
always make the right choices, but our silence can help them develop their own understanding.
Far more than if we had been hovering over them, providing step-by-step instructions or doing it for them.
The same is true when our Heavenly Father is silent,
we won’t always make the right choices on our own, but our Father loves us enough to allow us to develop and mature in our faith.
If we are honest, we prefer the known to the unknown.
We prefer the definite to the ambiguous.
We prefer that which can be proved to that which cannot be explained.
We prefer words and clarity to silence.
But sometimes God uses the silence to build our faith.
Hebrews 11:1 reminds us that “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.”
We need to have a confident faith that God is always present. He is with us even in the silence.
Let’s look at the rest of Psalm 46:1-11
God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.
2 So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea.
3 Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!
4 A river brings joy to the city of our God, the sacred home of the Most High.
5 God dwells in that city; it cannot be destroyed. From the very break of day, God will protect it.
6 The nations are in chaos, and their kingdoms crumble! God’s voice thunders, and the earth melts!
7 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress.
8 Come, see the glorious works of the Lord: See how he brings destruction upon the world.
9 He causes wars to end throughout the earth. He breaks the bow and snaps the spear; he burns the shields with fire.
10 “Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.”
11 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress.
The circumstances or situations we are in do not control us, when we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we placed ourselves into the hand of the One who holds eternity, the one who is in control of all things is present with us.
God is still in control and seated firmly on His throne.
The psalmist tells us through his own experience: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” as the NIV translates verse 1
The presence of God brings security
God alone is our refuge and strength.
God is our ever-present help.
He is our hope, and nothing else.
We can have faith in the presence of God.
We can depend on Him.
Our trust is not in the things of this world,
our trust is in the eternal God.
In the midst of an ever changing world,
we can continue to trust in our unchanging God.
He is with us.
His presence is our peace and joy.
We can have faith in Him in every situation, in every circumstance.
Jesus said in John 14:27, “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” (John 14:27)
There are those who live their lives consumed with worry and fear.
And there are those who live with a great sense of security because they have placed their faith and hope in God.
We can be secure in the presence of God.
Security is not the absence of trouble, but the confidence and courage we have in the midst of trouble - this comes from a faith in the presence of God.
It is this faith that gives the psalmist the courage to say, in Psalm 46:2 “We will not fear.”
Do you have the same courage as the Psalmist today?
Jesus said in John 16:33, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33).
Our confidence cannot be shaken, we have a God who is present, we have a God who is in complete control.
We can have courage, not because we are strong,
but because our God is strong.
God is all powerful, He has not changed, His love is sure and certain.
Let me remind you of the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 8: 35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We are secure because the One who loves us is present with us.
As Christians, our lives have an eternal dimension.
We know nothing that happens here can harm or change the things that matter to us most -
our relationship with God, our home in heaven,
the presence of our loved ones and friends who have also known Christ and lived for Him.
Nothing can change those things. No one can take them away.
As Christians, we understand that there is evil in the world.
But we also know that God is present in the world.
There are no guarantees in this world for any of us.
We are not immune from the problems of this world, but we are loved — we have a God who is present with us and He watches over us, His children.
We can turn to Him. He is with us.
No matter where the journey takes us, He takes our hand and walks with us.
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As I draw to a close, let me rephrase the question I began with :
How much quality time WILL you spend with God?
We must never be too busy to be still.
We must never be too busy to be in the presence of God.
Examine your day, what have you filled it with that you have made more important than time with God?
Take a step back, look at your activities, and plan to put God in first place on your list.
God first - before everything and everyone else - not last.
Prayer first - not last.
Speak to Him.
Depend on Him.
Trust Him.
Ask for His blessing.
Seek His will and purpose in your life.
Ask the Holy Spirit to work in your life.
Rely on Him.
Be still and know He is God.
Jeremiah 29:13 says If you look for God wholeheartedly, you will find Him.
Matthew 7:7-8 says “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened”
Are you looking for His presence?
Are you asking for His presence?
Are you seeking His presence?
Are you praying for His presence?
Whatever your goals may be for this week, whatever is on your already on your to do list,
make sure time with God is the top of your list.
God is always present.
God never puts us on hold.
God is always available and will listen when you speak to Him in prayer.
Some of our problems may be small, others are big, God is present in every situation.
God’s power is greater than anything in all this world.
Set aside quality time to pray.
Set aside quality time to read His word.
Set aside quality time to seek His presence.
Set aside quality time to be still and know that He is God.
Let’s pray.
Hear these words: BE STILL AND KNOW I AM GOD
BE - God, we say ‘yes’ to You. We choose to allow Your way to shape us and Your will to direct us in what is best. We surrender instead of resist, We yield instead of fight, we believe instead of doubt.
STILL - Father, may Your rest abide and Your peace abound within us. Quiet all anxiety that troubles our thoughts and unsettles our emotions.
We bring our souls under the control of the Holy Spirit; we stand steady upon the unmovable foundations of Your kingdom; we receive the sufficiency of Your grace and the encouragement of Your promises as you calm our souls.
AND KNOW - Lord, thank you that Your word is sure, unchanging, and indisputable. Your word is true. We am certain. You have saved us from guessing, wondering, wishing, or pretending.
We know! We believe!
I AM GOD - You are who You say You are. You do what You say You do. There is no other! You are the highest, the greatest, the best. You have no weakness, no lack, and no equal. You are our God, and our Heavenly Father. We find comfort in Your nearness, security in Your voice, courage in Your strength, hope in Your promises. You are enough. More than enough! You are with us. You are our refuge. We are safe in Your care.
AMEN
