Experiencing God's Presence #154

Will God really live on earth among people? Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain you.

2 Chronicles 6:18

This question is deep in the heart of every human being. Many people look around them, experience a little bit of life, and answer, “I guess not.” Or maybe their response is a little more nuanced: “I’m sure He’s here—watching from a distance, perhaps, or only subtly and invisibly. But not in any noticeable way.” That’s because we’ve cultivated our natural vision but neglected our spiritual eyes. And we’ve trained ourselves to be disappointed.

When the Holy Spirit gives us new life from within, He gives us ample reason to hope that we can experience God in meaningful, practical ways. The world often quenches our hope, but we can rekindle it any time we want to by receiving and believing God’s promises. We are told that the hope of a believer does not disappoint (Romans 5:5). So when we ask the rhetorical question Solomon asked—“Will God really live on earth among people?”—we have an emphatic answer. Yes, this God really has chosen to dwell with us. In fact, He is zealous about it.

That’s why it’s so important to cultivate our spiritual vision. We have to deliberately and consistently choose to see God in our lives. We need to learn to interpret the “coincidences” and “serendipity” and strange developments of our days as potential evidence of His voice. We must ask for discernment and avoid being tossed around by every hint of a whisper, but we must also stop dismissing the genuine whispers as “chance.” God speaks and reveals Himself incessantly. We must watch with spiritual vision and listen with spiritual ears.

Lord, I know Your majesty and that You are infinite. Heaven can’t contain You, yet You choose to dwell with us, in us, and all around us. Thank You so much for choosing to live with us. I invite You again to increase Your Presence in me.

From the book