Are there things I do that silence God's presence?
12/17/2009 11:46:27 PM
Prayer
Jesus Christ, our Immanuel, God with us. . .
Yesterday, I discussed how to feel God’s presence in and around you, but today I ask the question: Are there things I do, or might do, that would silence his presence?
I think so. . . while he will not go away necessarily, your ability to feel him will be dimmed. So, what can you do?
Refrain from activities that would “grieve” Him~
To grieve God is to hurt the heart of God. It hurts when you reject him,
[I mean, really, do you think you are the only one who hurts when you experience rejection?]
no, it hurts him when you reject him, and turn toward that which you know is out of line with his will for you. . . like sin. What is sin? I often get asked that question. It is that which God has clearly laid out as such—envy, murder, stealing, hatred, idolatry, etc., and also that which we feel in our conscience is wrong, and we do it anyway. Consult Romans 7 as Paul describes the struggle within.
Another thing that hurts the heart of God is our disobedience. Jesus said, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep my word…”1 And the writer of Ecclesiastes said, “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”2 I love these thoughts:
“Obedience is not the major work of the disciple; it is the only work.”3
“There are only two things required of the disciple (student) of Jesus Christ:
to love God and to obey him.”4
What else grieves the heart of God? Lack of repentance – when you have erred—overtly or in your heart, and have left it unresolved/unconfessed. Oh, the grace of God covers all . . . and is there any greater gift than the grace of God? I think not . . . through it, we have guilt absolved, and our debts removed.
Hardness of heart or judgment toward others is not pleasing to God, and will cause us to feel a separation from him. Let’s put off a spirit of fault-finding and criticism, and “If possible, as far as it depends on us, live at peace with everyone”!5
Another thing that makes the presence of God less apparent to us is preoccupation with self. If there is too much of me, there will be too little of him. Let’s ‘have this attitude in ourselves which was also in Christ Jesus—who didn’t require equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied himself. . .’6 What attitude did Jesus have? HUMILITY. Have this attitude in yourself: humility.
“Okay, I’m good on all of these areas you mentioned, but I still don’t FEEL the presence of God—does that mean he is not there?” No, it does not mean that. You see, here is the thing about the Christian faith—at some point, we must decide that God is trustworthy, and if he says that ‘he is with us’ then we can stand on the promise as truth—and that truth has little to do with how we feel. “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you…”7
I believe that God’s presence in my life is a constant, and I am daily trying to ‘abide in him’ just as he told the disciples to do in John, chapter 15. Can’t you see Jesus gesturing to a familiar grapevine as he said to them, “Abide in me, and I will abide in you.” Abiding involves training and disciplining ourselves—guarding our hearts and minds, and what we put into them—to remain close to the Lord.
One day, when we see Jesus face-to-face, we shall no longer have to discipline ourselves to ‘abide’ or ‘remain’ in him, for we will be with him, never to be separated again. O, what a glorious day! Until then, let’s welcome his presence in our lives, and endeavor to remain just as Brother Lawrence did, practicing the presence of God, even while he did the dishes of the monastery!
May you abide in his loving presence today~
Christine
1 John 14.23
2 Ecclesiastes 12.13
3 Calvin Miller
4 George MacDonald
5 Romans 12.18 Amplified
6 Philippians 2
7 Hebrews 13.5