His presence

We use our five senses to perceive changes in our surroundings.  Whether you are considering temperature changes, the sound of footsteps approaching on a sidewalk, the glare of direct sunlight, the aroma of fresh baked pizza, or the taste of a sizzling steak... we avoid trouble and savor the experience of living via these marvelous physical senses.  But you know we use other non-physical senses too.  Have you ever felt someone looking at you only to turn and find there was someone actually looking at you?  Have you ever wondered where a marvelous and original idea came from when you know you can't take full credit?  We struggle with the nuts and bolts of relating to God.  We don't audibly hear Him or see the Lord with our eyes and so we reason that we can't know Him as we know people around us.  But I believe that the Lord is so present all around us that we can know that He is there.  We may have to get really still and we may need to focus our thoughts on Him.  The bible talks about setting our minds on the Lord.  He certainly connects with us as we read His word with care and sincere interest.   As we age we lose some of our sensory acuity with sight and hearing...but our spiritual perception can increase through all our days.  Paul was so confident that believers could sense the presence of the Lord that he described the Holy Spirit as an evident "down payment" that can reassure us that the Lord is living within.

 

Ephesians 1:13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

 

Luke 12:12 For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.

 

John 14:25 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."

 

One of God's greatest gifts is for us to know Him directly through His Holy Spirit.  We shouldn't settle for 'knowing about God' when we can really know Him personally every day!

 

blessings,

Rob Smith

http://2daysthought.blogspot.com/