Experiencing God’s Presence Pt. 2
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Over the last few days, we have been discussing a few things with regards to making sure we watch the throne—that we pay attention to what's transpiring and what's going on in the life of the believer.
This week's message was based on Isaiah chapter six verses one through eight, and we even discussed last night in our bible study what it means for us to watch the throne. We discussed how individuals can experience the same thing but ultimately that experience hits each person differently, and so we want to encourage everyone this week to not only pay attention to the news. Not that you shouldn't pay attention to worldly news, but we shouldn't glance and gleam so much from worldly news that we fail to look at the throne—we must watch the throne.
We want to encourage our relational network to make sure that we are all watching the throne. The text says, “In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on the throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.” This suggests to us God's position; He's sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Today, we don't want to only focus on his position; more importantly, we want to focus on the magnitude of God's presence. When we can understand the magnitude of God's presence and realize that God wants to personally be involved in every one of our lives, it can change the trajectory of our days!
God wants to be personally involved in all of our lives. If we are going to experience God's peace, we've got to experience God's presence. The personal nature of god and it can change the trajectory of your day. You may have woken up this morning with some frustration so we want to encourage you to pause and connect with God to experience His peace. As we are seeing everything that's happening in the world today—COVID-19 cases are rising, we're still in this major debate issue with the president-elect, there is an unsettledness that we typically rest in—we find ourselves sitting in a seat of anxiety and many of us don't even recognize that we are operating our days in a heavily weighted level of anxiety. When we spend time in God’s presence encounter Him, there's a peace that we can rest in right now amidst all that's going on.
Today, experience His presence. Pause for a moment, slow down, maybe practice some silence and solitude. Turn off the news, put down your phone, and get off of social media. For just a moment, go off the grid and connect with the Lord. Intentionally practice some silence and some solitude; turn off the radio, cut the tv off, and find a moment to experience God personally and connect with Him so you can experience the peace of God—the peace that surpasses all of our understanding.
Don't just run through your day and not experience the personal presence of God. Maybe you’re asking, “How exactly can I do that? Give me one specific tool.” Here’s one: go to scripture. In Isaiah 6:1-8, Isaiah describes the magnitude of God's presence. When you're in your moments of solitude, we encourage you to start by envisioning the magnitude of god's presence, and you can do that by starting with scripture. We see this glorious robe, His train so long, the Lord on the throne—there is a mighty power.
Scripture can take your mind to amazing places as you envision the powerful presence of God. Many of us find ourselves lost in moments of solitude as we sit there trying to figure out what to do in the silence and walk away empty. If you're looking for a key tool that will help you, start with scripture so you can begin envisioning the presence of God.
