His center is everywhere, His circumference is nowhere.
~ Saint Augustine
There are delights that the heart may enjoy in the awesome presence of God that cannot find expression in language; they belong to the unutterable element in Christian experience. Not many enjoy them because not many know that they can. The whole concept of ineffable worship has been lost.
~A. W. Tozer (1897-1963)
And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
~ Exodus 33:14
And He does. He is here. Right now. In the believer who has yielded their being, existence and hope only to the One who can make any difference.
All throughout Scripture – many dozens of times – there is an emphasis on the Presence of G_d. It is THE place to be in the universe. Not that G_d is not everywhere. Of course He is. What is being spoken of is that He chooses to manifest His Presence in certain locations and to people within history. He has manifested Himself as cloud and fire and light and power throughout the Old Testament. Now, we are one of those places. The very G_d of the universe, by His grace and manifold wisdom, has chosen to make us the very dwelling place of Himself.
May we not ever talk about Him – not ever again – like He is some Person who is not in the room, or even across the table so as to talk to us. He is, rather, with us like a groom is with his bride on their wedding night.
Beloved, He is here. He is with us. He is with you. There is no need to run any more. Just stop and yield to the truth that He is with you.
Oh, believe this to be true – even if it is just for one moment. You can – because of what He has done – live in constant and real communion with the Creator of the Universe. There is no need to ever be afraid again. There is no need to ever feel alone again. There is no need to ever suffer pain without being wrapped in the Strong and Everlasting Arms of the One who will heal you.
There is a secret to this place. We can’t bring anything with us. We can only bring ourselves, our whole broken, bleeding, empty hearts and everything else that makes us up.
We have to lay down the past, and the future. We have to cast any of our concerns upon Him, abandon any of our own righteousness, and come to Him even more naked than the day that we were born.
But in this most vulnerable of positions, we find a truth beyond any ability to put into words. He shows up and simply clothes us in Himself. He brings all the supply and covering and food and shelter and Joy and peace to the moment. And suddenly, all is very well. He fills all our emptiness with a fullness beyond description. We become saturated with Him, and we realize that this is what we were ever designed to do – live both welcomed and welcoming in the very near Presence of our Beloved Friend.
And you never (not ever) have to leave. And He will never (not ever) leave you.
