“Be still, and know that I am God!”
Psalm 46:10 NLT
Most people live either in the past or the future. They think about things that have happened to them in the past, what someone said or did to them or vice versa. Others are concerned about things that could happen in the future, whether it’s five years or five minutes. However, God’s presence is not fixed in either of these, instead God remains with us within our present moments. He desires us to embrace our current circumstances and be in relationship with Him.
One of the biggest questions for us believers is “How can I hear God? How do I experience His presence?” God promises us that He is Emmanuel, God with us, meaning He is currently among us. The Bible teaches that regular prayer and reading of His word, along with a new birth in Jesus, are vital to experience His presence in our lives. Yet often we become so distracted by our anxieties of the future and guilt of our past that we cannot breathe and remember He is with us right now.
Jesus showed us what it was like to “be present”. He said, “I only do what I see My Father doing,” and, “I only say what My Father is saying.” When God moved, so did Jesus.
For us, it can be really difficult to get to this. You might be going through a divorce, having financial issues, or suffering through addiction. These, among many other things, can serve as distractions that pull our attention away from Him. Sometimes the best way to quiet the noise is just asking ourselves, “What’s around me? What do I feel? What can I hear? See? Smell?” If we can recognize the physical world that is currently around us, we are able to understand that God is in that moment with us.
Once we are present with Him, we become vulnerable and open to His voice. However, sometimes hearing the voice of God is not straightforward. It can come to us clearly spoken, it can be whispered, or it can produce a vision or image that we have to interpret. As long as what we’re receiving agrees with Scripture, our Spouse, wise counsel, and produces peace and wise fruit, then we can be confident that we now know how to be in the present with our Father. It is up to us to maintain that from here on out.
Prayer
God, thank You for waiting on me. I may not have always realized You were there as I was worried about things I couldn’t change, but I’m here now. I want to experience more and more what it’s like to rely on You throughout my day; I want to be like Jesus and act when You act and speak when You speak. And when I begin to worry about the future or the past, help guide me back to the present. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Extra Reading
“God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.”
Psalm 46:1 NLT
“It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; God gives rest to his loved ones.”
Psalm 127:2 NLT
