Losing and Regaining our Sense of 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.)

This is a follow-up to an article I wrote almost a year ago about experiencing God’s presence.  I felt compelled to write this as I was faced with my own sinfulness and need of grace.

I honestly believe that all Christians have experienced not only an overwhelming sense of His presence, but also a disturbing loss of His presence.  I know I have.  Some of us may have experienced this loss occasionally for a short season.  Others may have functioned in this state for quite some time or may never have truly felt it.  So, what happens when we, through deliberate and/or unconfessed sin, drift away from God’s presence at work (or anywhere else for that matter)?  How do we get it back?

I have several things to share that might bring some encouragement and hope:

• God does not leave us, condemn us, or give up on us; Ps. 139:7-10 says that God is always present
• There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1); nothing in this world can separate us from God’s love (Rom. 8:38-39)
• God does not stop using us in our work (he even uses unbelievers to serve His purposes)
• We know that God prefers to use cleansed vessels: “he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work” (2 Tim. 2:20-21)

I have observed from my own experience, that when I have drifted away for a short time, the first thing I notice is that the joy of the Lord diminishes until I repent of and confess my sin.  This lack of joy and energy negatively impacts my relationships with co-workers, subordinates, and superiors, and significantly reduces my creativity and productivity on the job.

David, the man after God’s own heart indicated the same thing: “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.  For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer” (Ps. 32:3-4).  But once I repent, confess, and rest in God’s grace and forgiveness, the joy returns, I begin to sense His presence again, and I am strengthened for work.  (See Ps. 32:5.)

It was said of Brother Lawrence in The Practice of the Presence of God, “When he sinned, he confessed it to God with these words: ‘I can do nothing better without You.  Please keep me from falling and correct the mistakes I make.’  After that he did not feel guilty about the sin.”  He was a man of simple faith, who understood well the fundamental truth of 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Knowing that I have been called by God to be a co-worker with Him in whatever task He has placed in front of me, to integrate my faith at work, at church, and at home should motivate me towards holy behaviors and attitudes.  When by faith and obedience I abide in Jesus Christ (John 15) and am filled with His Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18), I can be fully confident that God will work through me to love my neighbor and bring Him glory with maximum results.  This is my single-minded objective: I do not want to get in His way; I want to get His way in me.

As we grow in maturity in the power and filling of the Holy Spirit, we should experience more and more consistent victory over sin.  But we can never rest in that.  The minute we get proud of our efforts and progress in our own spiritual growth is the minute we will lose our humble second-by-second dependence on God.  And then we can fall so easily. “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” (1 Cor. 10:12).

As I reflect on the changes I have gone through over the last 40 years: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual, I realize that our tendency to fall into various temptations and sins goes through seasons.  For example, some of the sins I struggle with now in my late 50’s I also struggled with in my 20’s.  But maybe I struggled less during my 30’s and 40’s.  It is almost like a cancer that is in remission and then comes back with a vengeance.  Just because I no longer deal with a particular sin now does not mean that I won’t deal with it in the future.

We always have to depend on God to continuously transform us in the power of the Holy Spirit into the image of His Son.  It is not about perfection; it’s about direction.  We won’t be sinless, but we should sin less.  We will never arrive, but we must pursue God’s holiness.

When we are supernaturally able to walk in His presence at work on a consistent basis, we will see over time how His purposes unfold in our life.  That is what I desperately want to experience.

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.