“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there. If I make my bed in hell, behold You are there.”
Dear friend, if you and I keep ourselves tuned in to the presence of Jesus 24/7, there is nothing that can overcome us, nothing that can get us down. There is no hindrance or attack that can keep us from stepping into what God has already decreed and released to us. There was a precious monk called Brother Lawrence, who lived from 1611 to 1691in France, who experienced the Lord in this beautiful way in His daily life. His writings were later published into the book now known as “The Practice of the Presence of God” which sold millions of copies. His life and writings must have been revolutionary in a time when most people thought of God as the One who lives in a sanctuary, and can only be experienced on specific days and times of the week! Sadly, many modern believers may unconsciously subscribe to the same thinking, ie, that communing with God happens only on Sundays or through their pastor, or at specific times set apart for prayer or reading the Word.
So what is “practicing” the presence? It is a constant maintenance of the consciousness of God the Holy Spirit in you, upon you, and with you. It is the knowledge and heart understanding that you and Jesus are united as One. 1 Corinthians 6:17 tells us that “he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him” (NKJV). This means that you and God are one, through your faith in the blood of Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit. You are the temple of the Holy Spirit and He lives in you. He draws you daily deeper into the awesomeness of Jesus Christ! You are being renewed, transformed in your mind, and made more like Him every day from the inside out. You truly are a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), and the beautiful Blood bought Bride! Perhaps you have believed that there is a separation between you and God’s presence because of something you have done, or something that happened in your life, but here’s what Romans 8:38 & 39 say: “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”The precious Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity came into your life the day you placed your faith in Jesus, and He came to stay!
In the above Scripture Psalm 139:7, the psalmist David says “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?” There’s nothing we could do that could take us away from Him. There is nowhere we could go to, however dark, (even in the depths of our hearts or imaginations) where He cannot be. (That’s a sobering thought!). The day you placed your hand in the hand of Jesus, He placed His ring upon your finger. He made you His Bride, and He came to share your life, through His beautiful Spirit. He really is with you 24/7. He does not drop you off at your front door at the end of the day and go away. He does not say “goodbye” when you walk out of your church on a Sunday afternoon, or after your mid week worship night! He never leaves you through the day or night and He really wants His precious ones to get this, and to know that they are never alone, hallelujah! Today, Jesus is beckoning His treasured Blood-bought Bride, to cultivate a daily consciousness of His presence. It is really easy to do, and you can start by turning your thoughts to Him whenever you remember, even in the midst of the most mundane task. Stop what you are doing, breathe in, and connect with Him, with a moment of internal praise, or thanksgiving; or have a few minutes of praying in tongues as you sit in your car or walk through the aisle in the grocery store. Talk to Him, seek His guidance, seek His opinion on something you are working on. Invite His thoughts to become yours. Let Him be an intrinsic part of your physical (not just spiritual) life. He is with us always, but when we initiate a connection, we activate the heavenly flow of Goodness that is always waiting to be poured out. There is a level of favor and breakthrough that the people of God are going to step into during this year, just from having a new and heightened sense of their connection to heaven, and who they are in Jesus. There is nothing that can separate you from His amazing, abundant explosion of pure love!
Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to overflow you and keep you conscious of His presence, hearing Him, feeling Him, talking to Him, expressing your heart to Him every day. You will fall in love with Jesus in a whole new way and there is something beautiful He is taking you to! Be blessed, and know Him like never before!
Minoli Haththotuwa, February 13, 2020
