Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge,
Psalm 91:9-11
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
What an amazing promise for us as we make the Lord our dwelling place. There is a zone that we can experience in God’s Presence. Depending on what we sow in our lives also determines the reality of His manifested Presence that we engage in.
If you are anything like me, there are times when you feel like you need to “get back in” that zone of God’s Presence. The truth is we belong in that place where the Holy Spirit is very real to us. If everything about our Christianity is a concept, information and dry living – then we’ve short-changed ourselves. God is about abundance. No matter what area of life it pertains to – He is the abundant God that does exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or think (Eph. 3:20).
What are the things that hinder us from experiencing His Presence? Sometimes it is good to take an exam of the heart to see if our treasure is in the Lord. God will test our hearts to see what we will do when he blesses our lives. Will we go after other things and forget the Lord? That is what the children of Israel did. They began to engage in false worship, making covenants with the other inhabitants of the land. Those inhabitants were like thorns in their side with the false gods as a snare (or a trap) to them.
And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars. But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this? “Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they shall be thorns in your side, and their gods shall be a snare to you.’”
Judges 2:2-3
This can be what happens if our lives are not totally devoted to the Lord. Things can become a snare that keeps us from experiencing God.
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.”
1 Corinthians 10:21
Sometimes people wonder where God went, but much of the time God is asking the same question about His people. He is the Lord – He does not change but we do (Mal. 3:5).
Turning our hearts toward God can solve so many issues. Just learning to be honest and transparent before the Lord will help us experience a restoration of His Presence in our lives.
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.
1 Peter 5:6
Sometimes it is just a minor tweak that we need to make in our focus, where we are spending our time. Think about that. Where is your time going? In the measure we sow, that is the measure we reap. What do you really treasure? (Luke 12:34) What measure are you spending in pursuit of the Lord?
One of the things I’ve found extremely valuable over the years is knowing how to create an atmosphere of God’s Presence. In doing this you can train your spiritual senses. It really helps to keep you in “the zone” of experiencing God – makes it easier. Using soaking music is an amazing way to help create a climate for the Presence of God. Particularly instrumental music where it is much like a canvas you can paint on through your engagement with God.
Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
Colossians 3:2
In Christ it is not about the “don’t do this” but it is about what we “get to do”. By focusing on the “things above” it takes care of the rest. Just as it is not about laws and legalisms, but about His grace working from the inside out.
Find a fresh wind of God’s Presence today as you commit to seek Him with your whole heart.