Have you ever been in a room where somebody you don’t even know walks in and the feeling in the room suddenly changes. In my profession, I see many people I don’t know every day and I am able to experience this. Someone can be quiet, with no body language and unknown to me, and yet, their sole presence is felt and is able to create a significance in the people around them.
The moment that they walk into the room, you can feel that presence, either a good energy or a bad energy from them. This kind of presence is not a physical presence, it is a spiritual one, and it has to do with the spirit of a person and is able to affect us either positively or negatively.
Spiritual presence is real and is able to be felt when our own spirit is receptive and aware.
God’s physical presence has to do with his omnipresent attributes—He is God and he is just everywhere. His spiritual presence, in the other hand, is something that is meant for us to enjoy. His spiritual springs up from his spiritual nature which is love and goodness and his presence is filled with delight. Our ability to enjoy it will depend also of our own spirit being receptive and aware of it.
We can read in Psalms 16:11:
“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
From the beginning of creation we can see that God’s heart was for us to enjoy his spiritual presence. Of all the places in the earth, God created a specific garden with a specific name for men to dwell. Evangelist Myles Munroe explained the Hebrew meaning of the word Eden.
He said that:
“Eden is a Hebrew word with five strokes that mean: spot, moment, presence, open door and delightful place.” And that: “God took the man and put him in a spot, for a moment, where the presence of God was an open door to heaven.”
So, of his presence he made for us—not a feeling, not an energy, not an experience— but a place for us to dwell in. A place for us to go to and be filled with the love and goodness that is in the nature of his spiritual presence and that we so much need.
In 1 Chronicles 16:27 we can read in reference to the context of the Ark of God—the place that God provided for Israel to carry his presence:
“Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his dwelling place.”
Sounds wonderful, right?
It is, but unfortunately the history of men enjoying God’s presence had stones on the road. The devil—you guessed it—had to try to interfere out of jealousy. I say try, because thanks to Jesus, he really didn’t get to.
I’ll explain this part further.
After being tempted by the devil and acting in disobedience to God, the Bible says the Adam and Eve hid from the presence of God in Eden.
“And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” (Genesis 3:8)
This is what sin and disobedience does in our lives, it pulls and drags you away from God’s presence. And since Adam, God’s providence has been to restore what was broken and separated us from the ability to enjoy his presence. The devil in the other hand, to this day, continues to try the same ways with us.
Every. Single. Day.
Every day, you are about in your day like nothing is going on, but the works of the evil one are there trying to keep you away from dwelling in the presence of God. He knows that in that place you get ready for battle. He knows that in that place you get filled with that joy and love that he hates so much. Believe me, he is not happy about you spending time in that happy place.
Jesus did something wonderful so that his people could have direct access to the presence of God.
When Jesus died, the curtain or veil that restricted access to the Most Holy Place in the tabernacle— the place that had the Arc of the covenant— was completely torn (Hebrews 9).
Top to bottom (Matt. 27:51).
That place was the sacred place of God’s presence in the old covenant and no one, except the high priest could enter. The torn curtain established unrestricted welcoming to the presence of God for all of God’s people.
Friend, the torn curtain after the sacrifice of Jesus was meant for restoration of the edenic presence of God for us. It was through the sacrifice of Jesus that the presence of God was restored to us as a place that you and I can have free entry to dwell in.
This is amazing.
Eden is available to us every single day—thanks to what Jesus did.
So, what are you doing?
Why would you go about in your life without seeking to dwell in the delightful place of his presence first and constantly?
Friend, please understand that what you need each and every day to stay away from disobedience and sin, to overcome the heaviness of this world, to obtain strength and joy that defeats depression and anxiety, and that gives you that awareness and receptiveness to identify and rebuke the works of the devil, is available to you through Jesus.
“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:19-21)
Your part is very simple: Draw near with full assurance in Christ and a sincere heart.
Draw near to his presence and your faith in Christ will do the rest.
Stop living out of the presence of God—in your own strength and in your own abilities—and start living and dwelling in his presence every nanosecond of your life.
Jesus paid a high price not just for your salvation, but also so that you can have a life full of the joy, love and strength that is found in his delightful presence. There is no price on your part. This is the “new and living way opened for us through the curtain” (Her. 10:20).
Start living in his presence every day, today.
