Presence

Loneliness is an epidemic. We either isolate ourselves or isolate others. It’s almost like a cycle. At the heart of it is a detachment we have for each other. A detachment that is heartbreaking because God created us for presence.

Being isolated is not just about being physically absent. Even when we’re with people we can be all alone. That’s because presence is so much more than just seeing or hearing or even touching someone else. It’s about acknowledging them.

God created us to know and be close to each other. To have relationship with each other. And because of that, he has made it possible for us to get close to his presence. That’s a tall order for a God that is relatively invisible to all of our physical senses.

Both the Old Testament and the New Testament talk about the presence of God. It’s mentioned a lot! And for a God who is hard to feel sometimes, that may seem strange. Maybe not, though. Maybe God knows that we need to experience his presence. Since it’s not so easy, he does his own part. As you read about it, it’s almost like he wants us to work for it.

In Exodus 33 we learn about Moses’ personal relationship with God. At one point they are called friends, they talk to each other “face to face.” That’s just a saying. Don’t take it literally. In fact, later in the chapter, God says, “You can’t see my face.” Instead, he’s going to make Moses work for it. He’ll show him his goodness rather than his glory.

Moses wants a spiritual experience. God wants something else. He wants a transformative one. You can have a spiritual experience and yet remain the same. But when you get a glimpse of God’s goodness, it’s tough to live the way you’ve always lived.

“I will not show you my face but I will show you my goodness.” That’s what we need to be looking for – not some evidence of God’s existence but the proof of God’s goodness.

And that’s what we get when we live in his presence. So, the big question now…How can I live in God’s presence?. First, we need to reset by rediscovering awe. Awe is the feeling of being in the presence of greatness. And there is nothing greater than the goodness of God. Maybe there is something numbing our awe?

Second, we need to develop practices that create awareness of God’s presence. They include being quiet, remembering God’s work, gathering together and praying for each other. When we do this, it positions us to notice God.

What is keeping us from noticing God? What roadblocks are out there in our everyday lives that keep us from experiencing his presence? I want to share a few ideas about this.

First of all, I think busyness is a big distraction from the presence of God. We wear our busyness like a badge. It used to be that we would ask someone, “How are you doing?” They would say, “Good, you?” Now we all say… “Busy!” It’s like we’re trying to score points by how cluttered our schedules are. And that busyness keeps us from doing the things that position us to experience presence.

When we aren’t busy, we make ourselves busy. The second roadblock is technology. We are surrounded by it and we make ourselves think that we use it to make life easier. Instead, we end up using it to distract us. We get busy and stay busy, and when we aren’t busy we zone out on our iPhones, laptops, TVs, you name it!

We get busy, we get lost in technology, and then we get bored. The third roadblock is boredom. And listen, I get it. The pathway to God’s presence is prayer. But I’ll be the first one to admit that prayer can be hard some days. You get tired, your mind wanders…you may even fall asleep!

The answer is not to start cutting our busy schedules (or maybe it is) or to cut the cord to our devices (God knows I need that sometimes) or even to cut through our boredom. We just need to recognize these roadblocks and leverage those times and those emotions to notice God.

I look at my calendar this week and it’s stacked. I’m busy! “God, I’m going to need to feel you this week to get through this.”

I find myself scrolling social media a bit too much. I stop. “God, please make sure my heart is safe right now. What am I missing?”

I go through the routine and get bored. I look around me. “God, show up in the mundane so that I know you’re there.”

These are simple things. Not life-changing, seismic shifts. Just a few little adjustments to get a better look at the goodness of God.