The Presence of God

The Presence of God

We had one of those truly amazing days yesterday. What started as a potentially good Sunday ended up one that I will not forget for a long time. We had morning service then a baptism service for 10 people. We had two friends come for the baptism who stayed for the whole weekend and we had some new friends, together with their family, drive a long way to spend most of the weekend with us too. What an amazing time.

The presence of God was very obvious as we all met up for the first time on Saturday afternoon. There we were in a rather plush hotel drinking coffee and chattering away. We discovered much more about each other especially about the similarities between their and our ministries, their church and our church, and even personality-wise between the seven adults there too. God manifest Himself in that hotel – and He remained with us the entire weekend. What a fabulous family! The kids were polite, respectful, and very well mannered, and mum and dad were the sort of down-to-earth, grounded, and wonderful Christians we all love to meet and fellowship with.

We got back together for the Sunday morning service and our new friends sat-nav did its level best to stop them arriving at all. Yet arrive they did and, for a real treat, we had a packed house – almost standing room only. The praise and worship was incredibly anointed and many were simply weeping for joy in the presence of the Lord. This was followed by a prophecy for our guests, whom pastor had never met until now. After this we had what, for us, was probably the most anointed preaching we had ever heard – the whole place just erupted in joy and praise! Of course, we had to calm down a bit after that so lunch ensued and we all took some much needed breath mixed with more food and great fellowship.

The evening baptism service was one of pure joy and celebration in the presence of a wonderfully delighted Father God and it was especially so for those whose journey had been a fraught one. Two octogenarians started the process – not a dry eye in the house – followed by a young man who had been on a tumultuous journey and for whom Pastor simply held wide his arms for a father’s hug – another very damp eyed moment. Two young women who had tremendous testimonies followed then five more wonderfully saved and blessed souls all with great testimonies – including my precious wife. Finally, one young lady was baptised by her Daddy – to rapturous applause all round for all these wonderful people. The presence of God was so tangible you could cut it with a blunt knife.

After all this, I still have to ask the question, why is not every meeting or service filled with the presence of God as these were? Why is it we expect so little from a Father God who is so willing to fill every meeting with His wonderful presence? Perhaps we should be seeking His presence more and more and more. All day, every day we can spend our time in His presence. Throughout every moment of our lives, He is more than willing to meet with us and walk with us. As we practice and demonstrate our faith, so His presence will become more and more obvious in our lives. Others who have yet to meet Him need to see this in us and then, perhaps, we will see more and more turning to seek that which we have found. That is, to me, the need of our lives – to demonstrate God’s presence and love for all to see.