Captivated: Beholding His Presence

When I read the Gospels I can't help but be a little bit jealous of the disciples. They got to physically walk and talk with Jesus, with God incarnate. They got to eat meals with him, joke around with him, and work alongside him. He was tangible, solid. He was God incarnate, God in the flesh. Each day they were with him they uniquely dwelled in the presence of God in a way humanity had not done since Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden.

Can you imagine just casually hanging out with Jesus on a Tuesday afternoon?

Outside of those who spent time with Jesus during his time on this earth, very few have been blessed to even catch a glimpse of the presence of God. And when we are told of those moments in Scripture, they leave the person forever changed. Think of Moses on Mt. Siani when he is allowed to see God from behind. When he returns, his face shines so radiantanly that he must wear a veil when he returns to dwell among the people of Isreal just freed from Egypt. When Isaiah sees a vision of God in heaven in all his glory, his response was to cry out, "Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips." In other words, when Isaiah sees God he realizes just how far from God he truly is. And then there is Saul on the road to Damascus who encounters a vision of the risen Christ, is blinded for three days, and turns from the zealous persucuter of Christians to the most well known evangelist who is credited for writing multiple letters which find their way into our Christian scriptures today.

In our summer theme of Captivated, we spend Monday talking about what it means to Behold His Presence. The reality is that while God's presence is in those huge, big, life defining moments like Moses, Isaiah, and Paul's stories, God's presence is always among us. God's presence is everywhere at every moment. There is no space or place where God is not.

So why aren't we always aware of His presence? Why does it seem like God is more present in some moments than others?

One of the reasons we aren't more aware of God's presence is because we get stuck in formulas which demand that God's presence look or feel a certain way. In 1 Kings 19, the prophet Elijah provides us with a great example of how easy it is to fall into this trap. As he is running and hiding, fearing for his life, he hides in a cave where God speaks to him. God tells him to go out to the mouth of the cave where Elijah experiences a mighty wind, an earthquake, and a great fire. God is not in any of these great, loud, powerful events. Instead, Elijah hears God in a quiet whisper which follows all the noise. It was not what Elijah was expecting. It was not what Elijah really wanted in that moment. But it was where God chose to be. Are we demanding that God reveal himself in a specific way or are we allowing God to work the way HE chooses.

The other main reason we aren't more aware of God's presence is simply because He has not chosen to reveal it to us for some reason. In 2 Kings 6, the king of Syria is determined to capture Elisha so that he can no longer help the Isrealite army. Elisha's servant sees the army approaching and begins to panic but Elisha remains calm. Why? Because Elisha can see that God has sent an army of His own to protect them. An army with horses and chariots of fire. Elisha prays that his servant would also be able to see the great protection God had provided and it is only then the servant sees.

Becoming more aware of God's presence is simply a matter asking God to reveal himself and then letting go of our expectations of what means. When you dig into scripture, you see God showing up in all sorts of crazy ways at unexpected times and in unexpected places. The more you are willing to embrace the seeming chaos of God's presence in this world, the more you will see how God is perfectly placed.

Follow Up:

• Take the time to read any of the passages referenced above. How do they speak to your experience of being in the presence of God?

• I have always enjoyed this song by Bebo Norman when I think about being in the throneroom of God:

• Our theme verse for Monday is Psalm 121:1-2. Click the video to learn it set the tune of Deck the Halls.