Cultivate an Awareness of God’s Presence—Two2Grow, May 20
Cultivate an Awareness of God’s Presence—Two2Grow, May 20
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? Ps. 139:7 NIV
The world we live in is filled with the presence of God. The answer to David’s questions in today’s Scripture is “nowhere,” because the Spirit is everywhere (see Ps 139:8–12).
Most people, even most Christians, don’t realize that or live like it is true. But when are eyes are opened to the presence of God all around us it changes everything.
I heard a preacher once say that the Holy Spirit could visit most churches and walk down the aisle with a red hat on, and people wouldn’t still recognize Him. Sadly, I think that’s true. But not just in churches. Even in our lives and homes we seldom are attentive to the Spirit’s presence.
It is important that we cultivate an awareness of God’s presence. Life is an adventure when your heart starts to open to the reality of us being in God’s world, where God is present and constantly at work. Whatever we do or wherever we are, we should make it a point to discern how the Lord is moving and what He is doing.
I’m not talking about becoming weird or turning out to be so spiritually minded that we become of no earthly good. The invitation to us is to live life to the fullest and, in that, be sensitive to the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of life. Instead, the more aware we become of the presence of the Holy Spirit, the more like Jesus we will become.
Jesus was always sensitive to the presence of the Holy Spirit while, at the same time, He was someone people loved to be around. The fact that Jesus was invited to weddings and that children loved Him shows how relational and social He was. That tells me that the more sensitive I am to the Spirit, the more fully alive I will be at the same time.
The Holy Spirit will not just connect me to God but also help me relate to the people around me in a good way.
Father, teach me to become more sensitive to Your Spirit and increasingly aware of Your presence. Help me grow more like Jesus each day, and show me how to be more open and responsive to You today.
Pastor Mikael Stenhammar, PhD
The world we live in is filled with the presence of God. The answer to David’s questions in today’s Scripture is “nowhere,” because the Spirit is everywhere (see Ps 139:8–12).
Most people, even most Christians, don’t realize that or live like it is true. But when are eyes are opened to the presence of God all around us it changes everything.
I heard a preacher once say that the Holy Spirit could visit most churches and walk down the aisle with a red hat on, and people wouldn’t still recognize Him. Sadly, I think that’s true. But not just in churches. Even in our lives and homes we seldom are attentive to the Spirit’s presence.
It is important that we cultivate an awareness of God’s presence. Life is an adventure when your heart starts to open to the reality of us being in God’s world, where God is present and constantly at work. Whatever we do or wherever we are, we should make it a point to discern how the Lord is moving and what He is doing.
I’m not talking about becoming weird or turning out to be so spiritually minded that we become of no earthly good. The invitation to us is to live life to the fullest and, in that, be sensitive to the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of life. Instead, the more aware we become of the presence of the Holy Spirit, the more like Jesus we will become.
Jesus was always sensitive to the presence of the Holy Spirit while, at the same time, He was someone people loved to be around. The fact that Jesus was invited to weddings and that children loved Him shows how relational and social He was. That tells me that the more sensitive I am to the Spirit, the more fully alive I will be at the same time.
The Holy Spirit will not just connect me to God but also help me relate to the people around me in a good way.
Father, teach me to become more sensitive to Your Spirit and increasingly aware of Your presence. Help me grow more like Jesus each day, and show me how to be more open and responsive to You today.
Pastor Mikael Stenhammar, PhD