In His Presence




There is a place in this crazy modern day world, where we will always find peace. Peace comes from being in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. When we come into His presence everything is set in order that has been messy. In His presence is the place to reset your focus on what is important in your life. No matter what is going on around us, in His presence we will find great inner peace. This is the peace that passes all understanding because nobody can understand how you have it in the midst of turmoil. Php 4:7. If you will set aside time early each morning to visit with Jesus you will have that peace.
As we seek Him and soak in His presence, for sure His likeness will be seen in us. This is different than taking a quick shower, this is a bath, a soaking bath. There is a song that we used to sing in one of our churches. I believe that it says it all.
“In His presence, in His presence
There is peace
In His presence, in His presence
There is joy
I will linger, I will stay
In His presence, day by day
Till His likeness
may be seen in me”
In His presence we are shown the path of life that is within the plan He has for each of us. In His presence is fulness of joy. Ps 16:11. The presence of God is not found by running to and fro. It is found by shutting yourself in with the Lord, and enjoying Him alone. That is easy to say, but it is not easy to do. The first time I tried it I sat for a long time without feeling or hearing anything. Many thoughts about what I should be doing rather than sitting came and went. I did not hear or feel His presence. It was disappointing.
Eventually I was able to push through all the interruptions and passing thoughts that would distract from our time together. I quickly learned that it was not the time to be in a hurry, nor to shoot arrow prayers at Jesus. Rather, I found out that I needed to sit down, listen and wait for Him to put something into my heart. I always have the Bible with me and read after our quiet time. Then I go over the numerous Scriptures He has given me to commit to memory through the years. It is amazing how He will drop thoughts into my spirit during our quiet time. In His presence is where He whispers important matters to His seekers. There, He pours out peace and joy upon troubled hearts. It is the place I love to run to.
When a person has been in the presence of the Lord, and lingered there, others know it. Ac 4:13. .As you meet with the Lord and come into His presence each morning something will happen to you. Moses met with the Lord and His face shone. Ex 34:29,30. The disciples spent quality time with Jesus and others saw that they had been with Jesus. Ac 4:13. When you come into the presence of the Lord your face will show it. His presence will go with you to the places where your feet will tread, and there, His presence will be shared.
When Kathryn Khulman had her great healing meetings years ago, many were healed when she entered the building. She had been in the presence of Jesus and He escorted her to those meetings. Miraculous things happened in her meetings, many were saved, healed and delivered so they could better serve Christ.
Some meetings are anointed because of God’s people who have been lingering and waiting in the presence of the Lord. When they bring that left over presence of God with them, often the gathering will experience a visitation of God. We saw that with our first church. Our whole fellowship was in the habit of seeking the presence of the Lord individually in our homes. When we came together miracles happened because the power of His presence was in our midst. It was not uncommon for the unsaved to walk into a meeting and get saved. In the first year of that church about 200 people did just that.
When you have many people lingering in the presence of God come together for a meeting the Holy Spirit is free to move. John Wimber, founder of the Vineyard Church Movement, used to call it the stuff that is supposed to happen. It is found in the Bible. Mr 16:16-18. John spent time daily with Jesus. Alone, he sought His presence for over two years before the Holy Spirit moved in a dramatic way within his fellowship. That move touched others around the world. It is not by strength or power, and certainly not by intellectual teachings that God’s presence appears in our midst.
Where is the stuff the Bible talks about that should be happening? What conditions must be met in order for the power of the Lord to be present to heal? Lu 5:17. Geneva Bible Notes says, “The mighty power of Christ’s Godhead showed itself in him at that time.” Adam Clark’s commentary says, “ The power of the Lord, dunamiv kuriou, The mighty or miraculous power of the Lord, of Jesus, was there to heal them-as many as were diseased either in body or soul. Where the teaching of Christ is, there also is the power of Christ to redeem and save.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary says, “The power of the Lord is present with the word, present to those that pray for it and submit to it, present to heal them.”
When we come into the presence of Jesus we can expect to have a release of His power through us. That is if our lives are lined up with the Word of God. All of us have sinned, but in His presence we are made aware of our short comings and sins so that we can confess them, and be forgiven. Hopefully, we will not commit them again. Jesus knows our heart and our intentions. If our heart is sincere He will forgive us and fellowship with us.
Most of us long for God to move in power; for the Lord to be present in power to heal and deliver His people. The Pharisees and doctors of the law who came to hear Jesus teach, and those from every town of Galilee, Judea and Jerusalem came because they knew wherever Jesus was, something amazing would happen. No one is going to debate Scripture when someone is healed before their very eyes? Mt 4:25; Mr 3:7; Joh 6:2.
We used to go to healing services in Sacramento years ago. An evangelist came to pray for the sick. He didn’t touch the people, but God did. One night the crowd of over 500 people watched as a man who had been crippled for more than 20 years was healed. I saw, with my own eyes, his back muscles move through his shirt for over 10 minutes. I heard the loud cracking sounds that his bones were making as God was healing him. No person ever touched him. When it was over he was healed. He was able to bend down and touch his feet freely. There was a doctor in that meeting and he came up and said he had never seen anything like that in his life. The power of the presence of the Lord was there to heal.
You may have a degree, even a Doctorate in Theology. You may hold a high position in the academic world, or a prominent position within the government, but there is no substitute for being with Jesus and learning from Him. There is nothing like the power of God in action. Seeing the power of the Lord heal is something you will never forget.
God offers to every believer a special place of retreat, refuge, comfort, and peace along with joy, and treasures beyond telling. His presence is a resting spot on the path. It is a place where pain and hunger subsides. It is a place of power and of gaining heavenly faith to overcome any obstacle, problem, sin or sickness. The peace that is found in His presence is priceless.
Imagine yourself setting out from Vancouver, British Columbia, traveling across to Victoria Island on a small log raft. You peacefully lie down on the raft and bask in the Son’s light; as you float across the ocean that is filled with sharks to the island. The sharks rip at your small craft, desperately trying to get to you. You lay peacefully on the raft communing with Jesus. You are recharged in the midst of danger, and arrive on Victoria Island safe. This is the reward for believers who enjoy being in the presence of God.
His presence comes alive in one of the most powerful and inspiring passages of Scripture, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.” Ps. 91:1,2. The Hebrew word used here for “dwelling,” means to remain in God’s presence, and the Hebrew word for refuge used in this passage means a covering, atonement means covering or a hiding place. “The presence of the Lord is a most desirable place. He provides care and protection as we meet with Him.
Corrie Ten Boom wrote a book about her experiences during the Nazi Holocaust of World War II. She entitled her book, THE HIDING PLACE. She wrote about her family’s efforts to hide Jews from the Nazis. The attic in her house was her place to meet with Jesus. She found refuge in the presence of the Lord from the cruelty of the world.
In the midst of vicious attacks, you too can run into the presence of the Lord. It is there He gives protection. “Thou dost hide them in the secret place of Thy presence from the conspiracies of man; thou dost keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues.” Ps. 31:20.
Jesus left the example of rising early to spend time with His Father. We may enter our place of prayer, and speak into the ever-open ear of God. He who sees in secret will reward openly. Mr 1:35.
You might find the presence of the Lord in your back yard, on a patio or in the wee hours of the morning in your living room. Peace will become your constant companion when you commune with Jesus. Spending that time with the Lord is the best investment that you could ever make in your life.