The Presence Of God

The Presence of God                Author: Esther Agbi

Psalm 122:1

I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord.

In July 2011, Slave Lake in Alberta, Canada was almost razed down by a wild fire. Prince William and his wife Kate came to the city to show their solidarity and concern. This was a very noble and kind gesture. It appeared that all roads at that time led to Slave Lake. Everyone wanted to catch a glimpse of the ‘would be King’ of England and his bride.

I have visited Slave Lake several times in the past and it has a very large sand beach which could be Canada’s largest sand beach. Aside from this beach, I personally do not see any other tourist attraction in this city. The coming of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge was filled with excitement and great anticipation.

Thousands of people lined the streets to welcome them.

This brings to mind the excitement king David must have had when he was asked to go into the presence of God. Coming to our present day, are we as excited to go into the presence of our heavenly king?

The city I live in is usually buzzing with activities from Mondays through Saturdays. Then on Sundays you begin to wonder where all the cars have disappeared to. The roads are virtually empty. You see people jogging along the roads and having different kinds of exercises, while some others are playing golf and Lawn Tennis. I understand that all these activities are genuine and relevant to our everyday living.  It could be that some have had their church service on Saturday or a quick one early on Sunday morning, this still gives room for the question, what are the majority of people doing on Sunday mornings or evenings as the case may be?

The presence of the Lord is sweet to be in. It is like spending time with your earthly father. You want to talk about everyday events, feel loved, comforted and cared for and also to seek for counsel. I know some people may not like to spend time with their earthly father, and there may be genuine reasons for that. it could be that such fathers may have abandoned their own children, being cruel, wicked or for some other reasons. My heart goes to people who are in that category.

What keeps you away from the presence of God? Could it be sin, guilt, fear, lack of confidence, lack of knowledge or understanding of who God is?

Whatever the case may be, the Bible admonishes us in Heb 4:16 “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (NKJV) .

I pray that you and I would find mercy and grace and not judgment as we take steps in obedience to approach him in his presence.

Prayer

Father Lord, help me to draw closer to you so I may enjoy your presence.

Lord, help me to find the sweetness in your presence.