From the Heart

Presence in the Present

13b "The Lord is faithful in all his words
    and kind in all his works.
14 The Lord upholds all who are falling
    and raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,
    and you give them their food in due season.
16 You open your hand;
    you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways
    and kind in all his works.
18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
    to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
    he also hears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord preserves all who love him,
    but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
    and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever." - Psalm 145:13b-21

Over the last few weeks I have mostly stayed at home with my family. I have made a few trips to the office, gone to the grocery store, and served lunches at Oakridge Elementary. I am working from home, eating at home, exercising at home, even doing our weekly worship services and small group meetings at home. 

All this time at home has revealed something to me. It was not a conscious effort on my own part, it just happened. In the absence of a Christian workplace, the absence of face to face Christian fellowship, the absence of being a part of the church gathered for worship and study of God’s word, I have found myself seeking God’s presence more and more. I have shrugged off old habits of living in and interacting with a secular world, all the while being tethered to my faith through regular times of congregational worship and study of God’s word as the primary means of my connection to the person and presence of God.

I have found myself seeking God more in all my moments. I have exchanged so much of the world’s programing for more connection and moment by moment worship and interaction with God. This is not to say that I did not pursue this before, but I always had the crutch of Sundays and Wednesdays to fill any gap or deficit left. Now, however, I find myself hungry and desperate for God’s presence in the ever present of every moment. My consumption of things pertaining to God has gone from a daily habit to a daily compulsion.

I ask myself, “Why did it take this to activate this passion in me?” The answer is a fairly simple one. Almost everything, including the normal “church” week, has been removed from being a distraction to me in seeking and worshipping God moment by moment, to be in His presence in the present. Not waiting for the next service, gathering, or study, in fact not even knowing when the next one will happen, has freed me from a limitation I had subconsciously put on my own worship of God.

Pastor and evangelist Charles Spurgeon wrote: “Nothing teaches us about the preciousness of the Creator as much as when we learn the emptiness of everything else.”

While we are “stuck” in our homes and have hours, formerly dedicated to other things, that need filled, we can take that time to fill them with God’s presence. This can take many forms. For me it has been a lot of Bible reading, listening to theology and Biblical studies on Audible, listening to praise and worship music, and just praying to God to intercede for our world, our country, our community, and our church. But when we focus our attention on God we are reminded of His person, what He has done, and our need for His presence in our lives.

The Theologian A.W. Tozer reflected, “Sometimes I go to God and say, ‘God, if Thou dost never answer another prayer while I live on this earth, I will still worship Thee as long as I live and in the ages to come for what Thou hast done already.’ God’s already put me so far in debt that if I were to live one million millenniums, I couldn’t pay Him for what He’s done for me.’”   

We see that same worship, out of awe and indebtedness, in Psalm 145 as the psalmist gives us a poignant list of God’s faithful actions on our behalf. He ends this psalm the only way he could (that we should), by breaking into worship of our God: “My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless His holy name forever and ever.”

I close with a quote from pastor and writer Henri Nouwen: “God is a God of the present. God is always in the moment, be that moment hard or easy, joyful and painful.”

Closing Prayer: 

Heavenly Father, simply put, we need more of You. We need Your presence in the everyday, mundane moments of our life to transform them into moments of worship and obedience. We have been given an unprecedented pause from everyday life and the many things, good and bad, that distract us from You. Help us to seek Your presence in the present, in all things, at all times. May my mouth speak the praise of the Lord, let all flesh bless His holy name forever and ever. Amen