Experiencing God's Presence #10

When Christ appears . . . we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.

1 John 3:2

Before a worship service, I had been discouraged, burdened, and pessimistic. During the worship time, I began to sense Jesus’ Presence and feel hopeful and lighthearted. For that brief time, I felt that I could have faith for anything and do anything He called me to do, no matter how impossible. And then a few hours afterward, I began to feel discouraged, burdened, and pessimistic again. What was the difference? Before, during, and after, I was spiritually affected by the climate around me.

John told us that when Jesus comes back, seeing Him will transform us. It’s a someday promise, but it has smaller, more immediate implications. Apparently, the more clearly we see Him, the more like Him we become. Surrounded by joy, hope, and the Presence, we get glimpses of who He really is as well as who we really are. But when we unplug from that environment, we can completely lose sight of any cause for hopefulness. When He is near, we are changed to be like Him. And when He isn’t—or at least when we aren’t experiencing His nearness—we are affected by the world around us or the fears within us.

Which is the true you? Most people think a spiritual experience is a nice high but an exception to normal life. But actually, our new identity comes out when we’re with Him, and the rest is an aberration that’s passing away and one day will be gone forever. If the Presence will define who we are on the last day, as John says, then it already has the power to define us now. Hang on to those moments of faith and power. That’s His Presence drawing your true self out.

Jesus, I know I’ll be like You when I see You as You are. But as I come into Your Presence now, let me see You more clearly and be transformed. You bring out the best in me, and I embrace as my true self the person I become when I am with You.

From the book