Lessons of His Presence – Part 1

AUGUST 26

From the time of creation, God has been taking man through a learning process of His presence and the importance of fellowship and communion. There are key lessons that will strengthen us on God’s presence

Lesson 1: Obedience

Genesis 3:8
And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. (KJV)

God told Adam and Eve they could eat the fruit of any and every tree in the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and evil which was in the middle of the garden. After they disobeyed, they hid from the presence of God. Please realise that the Bible didn’t express that God hid from them; as a matter of fact, He sought them after they disobeyed but they were covered with guilt and shame and this made them feel unworthy of God’s presence. Many ask the reason God placed the tree of knowledge in the garden. They feel the fall would have been avoided if the tree was non-existent. This is a valid question, however; that’s the lesson. We need to understand that there is always a choice for us to make. The enemy will want to trick us with things that are temporal but as covenant minded children of God, the value we place on our relationship with Him will be evident in our obedience to His will. Please, realise obedience comes at a price. Willingness to commit to God even when you have other options is important in maintaining our relationship with the Father. The Scriptures declare that those who are willing and obedient will eat the best of the land. When our focus is the presence of God through obedience, the best of everything will be our portion. When you follow the leading of God’s presence, you will apply for the right job opportunity; make profitable investments, marry the right partner and much more. Obedience is a key lesson of the value we place on His presence.

Lesson 2: Trust

Hebrews 11:7
By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.(KJV)

Trust is reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety of a person or thing. Confidence in the presence of God is crucial to our experiencing His manifest presence. God gave Noah an instruction to build an ark (boat) in a desert! This instruction sounds out of place when you are to build an abnormal thing in a very normal environment. Friends, the boat signifies the power of God’s presence for preservation of anything and anyone. This means that when you have the presence of God, you are preserved from all forms of danger. Do you need preservation? What you need is none other than the presence of God. The lesson here is, sometimes, when you don’t feel God, can you trust God is with you? Trusting the presence of God expresses that even when things around don’t seem like God is with me, I have confidence that it will end in my deliverance. The psalmist said, “… for you Lord are a sun and shield.” This is a double edged sword. It means the presence of God has enough capacity to be what you need at any point in time. The presence of God can heal your body and marriage. This same presence will fight your battles and give you peace. Trusting His presence shows that we have faith in His ability. When Noah was building the ark, many would have mocked him and counted him foolish and jobless. He was however not moved by their utterances because his focus was in God. Trust in His presence to turn around your situation.

For further study:
Psalm 84:11

Personal declaration for the day:
I will take refuge in the presence of God.

Questions for you to reflect on
What have you learnt from your experience of God’s presence?