Did you know. . . that the presence of our Our Creator is His continual gift to?
“Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. (John 15:3-4a emphasis mine.)
Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you….” (John 15:16a emphasis mine.)
“…God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Col. 1:27 emphasis mine.)
“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,” (Eph 1:13 emphasis mine.)
“…for he [Jesus] has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”” (Heb. 13:5b-6 emphasis mine.)
These are only a small selection of statements and promises God has given to us who believe. They may not make sense in light of what we learn growing up, or currently floats around in our heads at times, but these promises are truth.
God has always known we might have a hard time absorbing and owning these. He told Isaiah over 700 years before Christ:
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. (IS. 55:8-7, 11 emphasis mine.)
As I sit with all these, even briefly, I am in awe. The creator of the universe, chose me, lives in me, promises to never leave me. Either He is nuts, or I have a really good thing here. Or maybe both. He is crazy in love with me, with us. His ways are not the ways of the world. Though there is one condition, faith in Him. He even gives us the faith, and sustains it.
Accepting these, I feel my self-esteem and confidence rising. I am valuable. I have Christ in me, the hope of Glory! I gain the strength of Heb. 13:6 “So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”” (emphasis mine.)
This is also where I find rest. This place of positional truth never changes. His present to me, is me living in this present place in time. Here in His presence, I am His and He in mine. I abide.
It is the best gift!
Have you opened the gift of His presence lately? How do you find His presence?
