Living in HIS Presence

Christ said, "Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from ME you can do nothing." ~John 15:5  And, "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 that I have said to you." ~John 14:26

Brother Lawrence in his book, "The Practice of The Presence of God" speaks to what we're going to discuss here today.  Brother Lawrence speaks about washing dishes for God and not for the brothers in his monastery (I highly recommend this little book).  To expand on the thought and be reminded of one more point from God's word, "Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people." ~Colossians 3:23

Before we can start "Living in HIS Presence", we need to get a good grip on these verses.  As God's children through the precious blood of Christ we have been grafted into the vine and as such are a part of the body of Christ.  Do we really understand the depth of this fact?  We are one with our Creator, He with us and us with Him.  "The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name...", He's with us now, as Christ is absent from us, we have the Holy Spirit with us.

As we come to fully understand the reality here, something else will begin to come into focus.  How about this, we are in His presence and He's in ours ALWAYS!  God's Holy Spirit has been given to us as our Comforter, Counselor and Guide.  He brings us comfort during the trials, tribulations and troubles in this life.  He provides counsel during these times and during times of great stress.  He provides guidance when we are faced with hard decisions.

Many of you know everything I've written to be true.  Have you considered that He walks with us all the time?  That He stands with us and walks with us throughout our days?  I believe He waits for us to see Him in everything we see and hear.  In what we touch, smell and feel.  All that we survey has been created by Him.  He waits for us to seek Him in the little things that come our way with the same intensity and determination as we do the "major" things of life.

Imagine going through the day with the Holy Spirit constantly engaged with us in every step!  Now realize that He waits in fact for us to seek His guidance, counsel and comfort minute by minute.  All we need to do is actively and intentionally acknowledge His presence!!!  The God of the universe is constantly with us through the presence of the Holy Spirit.  As we seek Him first, seek His direction, seek His will and live with our heart and mind fixed specifically in His direction...change takes place!

The change takes place within me, within you!  We begin to KNOW, His presence in new and intimate ways.  We see His purposes for our life differently, they become our purposes.  Our days become easier and the burdens lighter, because we know we aren't alone and every step has been in HIS presence.  The trials, tribulations and troubles all still come and yet now we find ourselves joining Paul in a new understanding for the phrase, "peace that passes all understanding".

I have to stop here for now and allow everything to really sink in to our hearts and minds.  Tomorrow I'll continue as together we embark on the journey that really is, "Living in His Presence"!!!

Blessings & Peace
~Robert