Experiencing God’s Presence

(Note: I wrote this article and posted it on my blog before my book, Immanuel Labor – God’s Presence in our Profession was published by WestBow Press in February 2018.  This critical topic was later included in the book.  I invite you to check it out.)

It has dawned on me more than a few times that in all my writing on the subject of work, I have never directly addressed the topic of God’s presence.  I guess I take it for granted that most Christians would understand this concept, since being a Christian is more about relationship than religion.  When I have discussed my insights on sensing God’s presence at work (which I like to refer to as Immanuel labor), this is merely an extension of what I have practiced pretty much on a daily basis for the past forty years.

So, what do I mean when I say I “experience God’s presence” at work or elsewhere?

The Bible passage that most believers think of with respect to this is Psalm 139:7-10:

⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.

Although these verses highlight God’s supernatural ability to be everywhere and anywhere, David wants us to see this aspect of God’s personality as not just as an objective reality, but as something he truly feels.  He says personal things like, “you are there” (twice, in v. 8), “your hand will guide me”, and “your right hand will hold me fast”.   These words describe that God is in a very real sense right there in David’s midst, which gives him (and us as well) feelings of peace, security, and hope.  Not only that, but David if fully confident that God has been, is now, and will continue to actively lead him every step of the way.

Before I dive into definitions and observations from other Christian writers, I would be remiss if I did not mention that David’s understanding of God’s presence has to start with the concept of pardon.  There is no experiencing God’s presence without first dealing with our sin that comes between us and our Creator.

In the first five books of the Old Testament, especially Leviticus, we see that sin had to be atoned for with blood sacrifices on a regular basis so that the Israelites, including King David, could experience God’s presence in the tabernacle.  David understood quite well the progression of sin, confession, and acceptance of God’s forgiveness (see Psalm 51 and 103:11-12).  In the New Testament book of Hebrews, we learn that Jesus’ priesthood and sacrifice of Himself for us, once for all, made complete atonement and forgiveness for all of our sins: past, present, and future, so that we can boldly come before the throne of grace to experience God’s presence continually (Heb. 4:14-16; 10:19-22).

A good starting place might be to explore the divine attribute of God’s omnipresence.  Grudem’s Systematic Theology defined it this way: “God does not have size or spatial dimensions and is present at every point of space with his whole being, yet God acts differently in different places. . . There is nowhere in the entire universe, on land or sea, in heaven or in hell, where one can flee from God’s presence.”  He adds, “When the Bible speaks of God’s presence, it usually means his presence to bless.”

I absolutely must mention the work of Brother Lawrence, in the Christian classic book written in 1691 entitled, The Practice of the Presence of God.  He is described in the Preface as one whose heart “had learned the most essential ingredient of the Christian life: how to remain in the presence of God daily.”

In one conversation, he had stated quite simply that “All we have to do is to recognize God as being intimately present within us.  Then we may speak directly to Him every time we need to ask for help, to know His will in moments of uncertainty, and to do whatever He wants us to do in a way that pleases Him.”  After forty years of consistently living in this way, he describes himself as one who “has been filled with a constant inner joy that is sometimes so overwhelming.”  I feel the same thing.

Last summer I read another book, The Presence of God, by J. Ryan Lister.  He gave a thorough biblical overview of the theme of God’s presence with His people from Genesis to Revelation.  He showed “how God’s presence is stitched into the biblical narrative so that it is clearly part of the warp and woof of the story.”  The author states, “The presence of God is a fundamental objective in our redemption and, simultaneously, the means by which God completes this objective.”

Lister continues, “Knowing the presence of God as it is expressed across the pages of the biblical script transforms the way we understand and live our Christian lives.  The presence of God is more than theoretical; it lives.”  He indicates that this impacts us corporately as well as personally, as we participate in the church, the Body of Christ, where God dwells in order to expand His presence in the world.  Lister reminds us that in the end, “‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man'” (Rev. 21:3).  This ultimate state of the eternal presence of God gives us hope.

I honestly have experienced God’s presence as a normal part of my own Christian life from the beginning.  I cannot imagine living any other way.  I know the nearness of God when I am reading His word and when I am praying, when I am enjoying the natural beauty of a mountain or a starry night, when I have been in a stadium full of men singing “Holy, Holy, Holy” and when I am in the car listening to a Christian music station.  I have confidence that He is there with me when I go through times of great trials, when everything seems to be going well, and everything in-between.  I do not think that my experiences are unique.

In closing, let me share what I wrote inside the front cover of Lister’s book mentioned above.  Before I even started to read it, I thought about what the presence of God really meant for me.  Starting with pardon, which we have already discussed, I made a long alliterated list of other blessings that result from God’s presence with us: proximity (Ps. 23:4), protection (Ps. 27:5), peace (Ex. 33:14), pleasure (Ps. 16:11), power (Acts 1:8), purpose (2 Tim. 2:20-21), and provision (Phil. 4:19).

For those who are lifted up by the gift of music, here is a YouTube video great new song called “Right Beside Me” written by Christian recording artist and cancer survivor Tim Timmons that illustrates the power of God’s presence in his own life.

I hope that this reflection will help others to experience God’s presence.

(Note: If you found this article helpful, I invite you to read a follow-up article I wrote on losing and regaining our sense of God’s presence here.)

Master Sergeant Russell E. Gehrlein (U.S. Army, Retired) is a Christian, husband of 38 years, father of three, grandfather of four, blogger, and author of “Immanuel Labor – God’s Presence in our Profession: A Biblical, Theological, and Practical Approach to the Doctrine of Work”, published by WestBow Press in February 2018. He received a B.S. in Mathematics from Colorado State University in 1980 and an M.A. in Biblical Studies from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary in 2015.  He is also a former junior/senior high school math and science teacher and youth pastor.  Russ currently works as a Department of the Army civilian at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.