CHRISTIAN WALK
Experience the Presence of God:
Be Aware
By Frank A. DeCenso Jr.
Guest Writer
CBN.com –
Jeremiah 23:24 (New Living Translation)
Can anyone hide from me? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens
and earth?" asks the LORD.
This verse applies no matter who you are. Like Adam and Eve, some
people may try to hide from God12, but to no avail. He is always
there, wherever you are. We are always ‘in’ His presence.
Here in Jeremiah, the nature of His presence is not manifestational,
as it was over the Mercy Seat; rather, it is a universal presence
that enables the Creator to always be with His creation.
As believers, we can appropriate this step by maintaining a conscious
awareness that His presence is ‘ever present’ with
us. When we are at home, when we are at the store, when we are
in the car - wherever we are, so is He.
A conscious, daily pondering of this truth will prove to be of
great comfort to us when we have struggles in life. It will also
help us to elevate our minds from this earthly plane to His heavenly
realm: "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things
which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of
God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth"
(Colossians 3:1-2).
In addition to God’s presence being universal, He also
indwells believers.
1 Corinthians 3:16
Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the
Spirit of God dwells in you?
What an astounding thing - that God Himself has chosen to dwell
in us, His adopted children!13 We are never alone. He is with us
through joy and pain, in blessing and heartache, while we are
awake and while we are asleep. Always. He is closer than our very
breath. In fact, “In Him we live and move and have our being”
(Acts 17:28).
With these truths before us, we now turn to the next step of
actively seeking God's presence: being
active.
12 Genesis 3:8
13 Romans 8:9-11, 15-16
Copyright © 2005 by Frank A. DeCenso Jr. All Scripture references
are NKJV unless otherwise noted.
Frank has been teaching the Bible in churches
and other venues for more than 20 years. He is currently the Ministry
Resources Director at Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Virginia
Beach, Va. He is an employee at Regent University in the Information
Technology Department. Frank is married and lives in Virginia
Beach.
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