A Magnolia's Heart Beats

Thankful Thursday - The Presence of God

I am so thankful for the presence of God. He is with me all the time. I always know it's me who moved during the times that I can't seem to feel Him. He has sustained me and been an ever-present part of my life this past week. I have been recovering from a lingering bout of the crud and He has just really been my portion. I really missed my grandchildren and got to keep them last night for the first time in nearly two weeks. They were just precious. Very, very active. So active, in fact, that the last thing I asked the Lord last night was, "Please let me have a night of uninterrupted sleep." And He granted that prayer! The time change has been messing with my sleep, but I guess He sent the Grands last night to wear me slap out so I could sleep well.

God's presence has been throught the week in tangible ways. In the conversations I have had with others, posts I have written, answered prayer, time spent with my Mom and time spent with my precious husband. He has especially been with me during Bible reading. I have really enjoyed His Word this week and the gentle whispers He has used to drive home points to my heart.

Are you thankful for the presence of God in your life? The Hebrew word for presence is paniym. It means:

1) face
a) face, faces
b) presence, person
c) face (of seraphim or cherubim)
d) face (of animals)
e) face, surface (of ground)
f) as adv of loc/temp
1) before and behind, toward, in front of, forward, formerly, from beforetime, before
g) with prep
1) in front of, before, to the front of, in the presence of, in the face of, at the face or front of, from the presence of, from before, from before the face of

I wanted to re-run a post I did for a Word-Filled Wednesday last year regarding the presence of God.

Moses knew things. He knew if God's presence didn't go with him as he led the Israelites through the wilderness, whether they were driving out the inhabitants of the Promised Land, building the Tabernacle God had given specific instructions for, or just picking up and moving camp from one place to another, they were in trouble!

After the children of Israel left Egypt, God gave them a visual symbol of His presence through a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. When the cloud moved, the people moved. When the cloud stayed, the people stayed. Day or night they knew that God was there. They traveled and set up camp under the presence of the Almighty God.

While God doesn't give us a visual symbol quite as obvious as a cloud, He does dwell in our hearts.

Like Moses, there is nowhere I want to go if the Lord isn't going with me. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if God is not in a situation I am going into, I'm doomed. I simply cannot imagine facing crisis without Him, and I long to share my joys with Him.

Do I give Him the space He needs in my heart? I pray I never crowd Him out with the things of this world.

Do I feel His presence daily? Admittedly, sometimes closer than at other times.

What should be my response?

Be more focused on godly things - I should never allow things that aren't true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy, to crowd my heart to where I don't feel God's presence as closely as I should.

Philippians 4:8 - "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

Stay focused on God's Word. The more I read His Word, the more aware I am of His presence in my life.

Psalm 1:2, "But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night."

Stay connected with God throughout the day in prayer.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 - "Pray without ceasing."

James 4:8 - "Come near to God and he will come near to you..."

Keep a short-timed account of my sins to God. When I sin, I need to 'fess up and ask forgiveness, and a pure heart.

1 John 1:9 - "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

Psalm 51:10 "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."

Heart to Heart - Has there been a time in your life you felt God's presence so closely it just made you gasp? Has there been a time in your life you missed the nearness of God?

Heart Reflections - Claim Moses' prayer as your own. Be that child clinging to God's leg, going where He goes rather than going off and leaving Him to pursue things that are less than noble.

Lynn at Spiritually Unequal Marriage is hosting Thankful Thursday for the month of March. Be sure and visit her by clicking on the button below for more Thankful Thursday posts and to link up and share your own list of thankfuls.