Why is it that God is with us and within us, yet so many of us live with little awareness of His presence? We face life’s problems without taking advantage of His wisdom. We cope with crises without calling upon the limitless strength that He has to offer us. Have you made that mistake in your own life? Why do you think this happens?
It certainly is not because God wants it to be so. Psalm 145:18 tells us, “The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him sincerely.” That means the Lord longs to maintain an intimate relationship with us. I believe the key word in that verse is “sincerely.” How sincere are you in calling upon the Lord? Do you really want to have a daily dependence upon Him? Or are you simply looking for instant help from the immediate problem of the day? Do you wish to partake in a rich and full relationship with the King of all kings? Or are you concerned that He might interfere with the way you want to run your life?
Those impure motives will never cause God to stop reaching out to you, but they will make it much more difficult for you to know the fullness of His love and power. Only when you finally come to a sincere desire for Him, as the psalm indicates, will you discover what He has wanted you to have all along.
The Lord desires daily fellowship with you through the Holy Spirit, whom He sent to indwell each of us. The moment you accept God’s gift of salvation and receive Christ into your life, He enters your heart in the person of the Holy Spirit. Though you may not always be aware of Him, He takes permanent residence inside you. If you are a Christian, the Spirit of Christ remains within you every moment of every day.
When Christ walked on planet earth physically, His time was limited. He could only be in one place at one time, and spend that time with only a few people. Living as a man limited His physical reach. But now, as He lives within each of us in the person of the Holy Spirit, there are no limits on our access to Him. Any time, any place, every believer can live in the wonderful presence of God. And we have the same Friend and Comforter the first Christians had some 2,000-plus years ago.
Maybe you have never heard about what is available to you through the Holy Spirit; or maybe you have simply forgotten. But if you have ever thought, If only I could talk to Jesus as the disciples were able to do! If only I could sit at His feet, hear His teachings and see His miracles. Life would be so much simpler and so much less frightening if I had God in the flesh right here beside me, you need to understand that what you have now is so much better and is ever present. Yes, it would be wonderful to look into the eyes of Jesus and ask Him the deepest questions of your life. But you can, through faith, look into His face and have an intimate relationship with Him right now. As your passion to communicate with Him intensifies, your spiritual maturity will grow. And the opposite is true. That is why some young believers are so spiritually mature and yet some who have walked with Christ for many years may remain spiritually immature.
By Vonette Bright
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