Tag: God’s presence

Receptive to God’s presence

On By Innermost BeingIn Pursuing God3 Comments

Wherever we are, God is here. No point is nearer to God than any other point. No one is in mere distance any farther from or any nearer to God than any other person is. A.W. Tozer wrote these truths about the omnipresence of God in the fifth chapter of The Pursuit of God, The Universal Presence. He then asked the question, if God is everywhere, then why doesn’t mankind celebrate that fact? The answer is simple: men do not know that God is here.

In previous chapters, Tozer wrote about the manifest presence of God. The presence of God and the manifest presence of God are not the same thing. God is manifest when we are aware of his presence but God is always here whether His presence is clear to us or not.

Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.

Psalm 139:7-10

Why does God manifest His presence to some people and not to others? Does God love them more? Or does the answer lie with us?

Tozer pointed out that if you think about any of the great saints whose lives and stories are well-known (not just people from the Bible), you will see that they were all unique individuals. Moses was not like Isaiah. John was not like Paul. C.S. Lewis was not like St. Francis. God did not choose to reveal Himself to these men because there was something really special about them.

What quality do all of these people have in common? Tozer concluded that it was spiritual receptivity – being open to God and being responsive to that inward longing that so many of us feel. Spiritual receptivity is not just one thing; it is “a blending of several elements within the soul.” Spiritual receptivity is not a constant quality; people possess it to varying degrees. We must actively cultivate these “elements within the soul” if we want to be open to God’s manifest presence.

God is here but man does not always know it.

During this Lenten season, my church is reading Scot McKnight’s 40 Days: Living the Jesus Creed. In the reading for day nine, McKnight wrote about a God who is “on call.” When Scot was a teenager, he foolishly drove an old car 100 mph on a two-lane highway. The road crested slightly and the car was slightly airborne. Then the road curved and Scot realized he couldn’t make the curve at such a high speed. Through the mercy of the God who is always on call, Scot was able to slow down enough to navigate the curve.

We are made aware of God’s presence through personal experience. Like Scot McKnight, I have had a couple of near-misses on the highway when I was very aware of and thankful for God’s protective presence! I have felt God’s comforting presence in moments of grief and emotional turmoil. I am aware of God’s guiding presence as I navigate the difficult spiritual tests of this life.

Tozer did not attempt to identify any of the elements of spiritual receptivity. From my own experience, I’ve listed a few elements of the soul that open me up to God’s manifest presence.

Devotion

The greatest commandment (part of what McKnight calls The Jesus Creed) is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Simply said, it is to love God with everything you’ve got! It is having a personal relationship with God and making God the most important part of your life.

Many religious people treat God as just an icon or a set of beliefs. Loving God is more than loving the idea of God. As Jason Gray sings, this is more like falling in love than religion. I need a truth that lives, moves, and breathes. It’s gotta be more like falling in love than something to believe in. More like losing my heart than giving my allegiance. Jesus made God real to me and swept me off my feet!

Humility

I just read a non-religious article about the power of intellectual humility. The author wrote that humble people are more open to learning from others because personal growth is their goal, not social status. Likewise, spiritual humility is the key to spiritual growth.

I think of humility in two ways. One, I am the small ‘c’ created being and God is the the big ‘C’ Creator. He is omniscient. There is so much I do not know about countless topics, even in comparison to other mortals. I can’t see the future; God already knows it. He is powerful; I am weak. Two, God is holy. He is the source of all that is good and moral. I am confronted daily with my sinfulness and inability to ever be pure in my thoughts and deeds.

Humility makes us receptive to God because we have to first acknowledge our fallibility and weakness to seek God’s help. Humble people are open to learning from Him. Humble people get their courage and strength from God.

Honesty and Openness

I believe that God reveals himself to those who are honest with themselves and with Him. We can’t hide our thoughts and feelings from God. Before an all-knowing God, it’s pointless to pretend to be something we are not. Before an all-seeing God, it’s pointless to cover up our thoughts and feelings. God is not fooled or impressed with our pretenses.

Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 139:23-24

In the psalms, I find the kind of honesty and openness that characterizes a person who is receptive to God’s presence and to the transforming power of the Spirit. David was honest with God about his fears. At times, David felt ignored and rejected by God. He was honest about his frustrations with injustice. In Psalm 10, David asked, “Why, Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” He then went on to complain at length about the actions of the wicked before acknowledging that God sees the troubles of the afflicted. God hears the cries of the afflicted. God is not indifferent to our suffering. God defends the oppressed. God is here.

Hunger

I eat several times a day. It’s hard for me to ignore hunger and the allure of my favorite foods. I am fortunate that I never have to be hungry for long because food is almost always readily available.

To be receptive to the presence of God, we have to long for God just as much as we long for our favorite snacks. God is readily available. We must long to fill that gnawing spiritual emptiness that exists when we are not fed by God.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Matthew 5:6

Lord, you are here. You are always near, even when it feels like you are far off. You are always on call. I am always in your hands. Thank you for loving me and protecting me from harm. I pray that you will cultivate the elements of my soul that make me receptive to your presence. Search me and show me the errors of my ways. Fill me with your goodness! Give me eyes that see and ears that hear your truth. Amen.

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Photo by Kyle Johnson on Unsplash

A soul thirsting for the living God

On By Innermost BeingIn Pursuing GodLeave a comment

Last year I bought A.W. Tozer’s book, The Pursuit of God, published in 1948. It’s only about 100 pages so it was a quick read. I knew I would eventually want to read it again to really reflect on it. I have been preoccupied the last few months relocating to a different state. Now my husband and I are settled in our new home and I’m ready to dive back into this book.

In the preface to the book, Tozer addressed a problem he saw with conservative Christianity. Many religious leaders did not see how hungry people are for God. Then, as now, there was no shortage of people who could teach fundamentals of the Christian faith from the Bible. But too often, this teaching did not satisfy a believer’s longing to experience the presence of God.

It is a solemn thing, and no small scandal in the kingdom, to see God’s children starving while actually seated at the Father’s table.

A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

The word of God had been widely disseminated and as a result, millions of people had Biblical knowledge. But Tozer wondered if “true spiritual worship” had ever been lower. As he observed, many churches put on a program every week and people came to church to be entertained. Few people engaged in real worship.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

Psalm 42:2

Tozer said that “the Bible is not an end in itself.” It is a means to bring people into an intimate relationship with God. It takes more than words to nourish the hungry soul. A person also has to “find God in personal experience.”

As a soul thirsting for the living God, I relate to what Tozer wrote decades ago. I’ve sat in the pew many times feeling like I’m watching a program when what I really want is to worship God. I’ve heard good sermons that really touched my heart but I’ve also listened to countless sermons that left my soul unsatisfied. In group Bible studies, I have been frustrated because people seem to care more about learning historical facts than about drawing closer to the living God.

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.

John 4:23-24

The time has come to worship the Father in Spirit and in truth.

Lord, I want to seek you, I want to find you, I want to know you. In every season, in every moment, I will bring my heart and seek you first.

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First (Lauren Daigle)

Before I bring my need
I will bring my heart
Before I lift my cares
I will lift my arms
I wanna know You
I wanna find You
In every season
In every moment
Before I bring my need
I will bring my heart
And seek You

Simplify your life and make time with God a priority

On By Innermost BeingIn Diving Deep1 Comment

At the end of a sermon series called “Living Deep,” my pastor handed out a list of steps to help us go deeper in our faith. The seventh step on his list is “simplify your life and make time with God a priority.” I can see why he phrased it the way he did. Our lives can become so full and complicated that it’s hard to make time with God a priority. But you simply can’t go deeper in your faith without spending time in prayer, worship, and spiritual reflection.

Simplify your life

One way to simplify your life is to stop chasing things that don’t really satisfy. Solomon wrote, whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. So much of what we do with our lives is meaningless. The pleasures of life are fleeting.

Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.  – Ecclesiastes 2:11 (NIV)

Jesus said we shouldn’t spend time worrying about even our most basic needs like what we’re going to eat or what we’re going to wear. God cares for us and he knows what we need.

To simplify your life, find contentment and joy in the basics of life. Be content with less.

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. – 1 Timothy 6:6-8

When you simplify your life, your priorities change. You stop serving money. You stop trying so hard to prove your worthiness. You stop loving this world and the superficial things it has to offer.

Between work, family, recreational, social, and other activities, our days fill up quickly. These days, it seems like everyone is busy. Being seen as busy has almost become a form of competition or a badge of honor. What does our need to seem busy really say about us? Do we need reassurance that our lives have purpose? Just as we should stop trying to find meaning in things, we should stop trying to fill the void or sense of emptiness, with meaningless activities.

I work full-time but busyness is not what keeps me from making time with God a priority. During my downtime, I am distracted by social media and television. My mind is led astray from my sincere and pure devotion to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3).

When I think about the impact of distractions on my spiritual life, I’m reminded of the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13). When the farmer scattered the seed, some of it fell among the thorns which choked out the plants. The worries of the world and the meaningless ambitions of this life can keep the message of Jesus from bearing fruit in us. They can keep us from making time with God a priority.

Prioritize time with God

Jesus said that our first priority should be to seek his kingdom and his righteousness. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:21, 33). Apart from God, I have no sense of well-being (Psalm 16:2). Apart from God, my heart is restless. My soul hungers and thirsts for God.

Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee. – Augustine

I want to make time with God a priority because the Lord restores my soul. He is my refuge and my strength. He fills me with shalom, the inward sense of completeness or wholeness. With God, I can sing, it is well, it is well with my soul!

Come all who are thirsty. Why waste your money on bread that doesn’t give you strength and your labor on things that do not satisfy? Listen, listen to God for the life of your soul is at stake (Isaiah 55:1-3).

I want to make time with God a priority because the Lord redeems my life. Every day, he crowns me with love and compassion (Psalm 103).

I want to make time with God a priority because his word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path (Psalm 119:105). His law is perfect, refreshing my soul. His statutes are trustworthy, making wise the simple. His precepts are right, giving joy to my heart. His commands are radiant, giving light to my eyes. His ways are more precious than gold, sweeter than honey. (Psalm 19:7-11)

When I make time for God, his priorities become my priorities. When I live in accordance with his Spirit, my mind is set on what the Spirit desires. I want what is good. My ambition is to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with my God. This is meaningful.

I struggle to make time with God the priority that it should be. I talk to God every day. I read the Bible but usually don’t spend much time studying or reflecting on what I have read. I confess that I can be spiritually lazy.

Lord, I want to make it my ambition to lead a quiet life; to be in your presence; to listen patiently for your voice; to seek your face; to pause and reflect at the end of each day. May this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Reading List:
1 Chronicles 16:11
Psalm 46:10; 131:1-2
Isaiah 55:1-2
Micah 6:8
Matthew 6:21-33
Luke 16:13
John 6:35, 14:23
Romans 8:5-6
2 Corinthians 11:3
1 Thessalonians 4:11
1 Timothy 6:6-8
1 John 2:15-16, 28