The Redeeming Power of Presence

            Have you felt like a part of you knows that life is meant to be something more than it currently is? Have you looked around and seen all the suffering and pain, possibly within yourself as well, and thought that life is ultimately to be more than we know as life? Have you sometimes experienced Christianity as a lot of words and yet wondered “Where is the powerful presence of the Lord, a living presence that is beyond mere words?” I have asked these kinds of questions along my journey as well, especially during times of struggle. Even present day Christianity as a whole was not what I believed the Lord was ultimately after.

To me, there seemed to be some larger purpose and way that we had not yet truly walked into as Christians, a way that looks much more like Jesus walked while on this earth. This way that seemed to open up very quickly to me is a way that powerfully brings redemption and restoration. Deeper healing and transformation into greater likeness of the Lord are truly possible, a transformation that reaches out with and expresses His love that draws all unto Himself.

This powerful pathway that opened up to me, really, that found me, is walking regularly in the present moment with the presence of the Lord. This pathway is more than “practicing the Lord’s presence” that I had learned in earlier years, which was focused on watching for the Lord and what He does in life. That learning was about paying attention to the Lord’s presence but still overlooked the fact that I might not be truly present with Him so as to receive His presence and, therefore, His grace. That original learning had been very helpful, and yet, I have now experienced a pathway that has produced much greater restoration and freedom than that previous learning, and even more than I thought was possible. I have found that knowing and expressing the Lord’s love as well as His other fruits is only readily accessible when I remain in the present moment where He and His grace abide.

While walking in the present with the Lord’s presence might sound simple in some ways, as you read you will discover that the majority of people rarely remain in the present moment because, like pin balls bouncing around, their minds regularly and seemingly uncontrollably take them into the past or the future; and even when they think they are present focused, they often look at it through a lens from their past. Because the Lord allows free will, we constantly come out of relationship with Him when we leave the present moment in our minds. To be in relationship with the Lord requires remaining in the present moment where His presence reigns as “I Am.” That is where His grace and love abide. That is where He is truly living water that satisfies beyond mere words.