Why Are We Content Without His Presence
Psalm 51:10-12 Amplified Bible (AMP)
10Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right, persevering, and steadfast spirit within me. 11Cast me not away from Your presence and take not Your Holy Spirit from me. 12Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit.
Our Bishop called our church to a fast towards the end of February, during this time, my husband and I were compelled to consecrate ourselves in a deeper manner because God had placed something on our hearts, but we felt that our past may disqualify us or should I say it was making us doubt what God had impressed upon us. During this time we have shut off phone, only using them if we were away from home or emergencies, all extracurricular activities and social networks outside of work have stopped. We have been focused on God, home and working. It was difficult to make this decision because we knew we depended on communication with others for many reasons. But we knew that much of our communication was taking us out of God’s presence and immersing us in things and in the lives of so many; but this was a crucial time; would we do what was asked of us to get in His presence in order to receive answers, direction, His anointing, cleansing and strength or would we continue with business as usual? The decision as difficult as it seemed in its first moments became very easy, to make. I never want to be content without God and His will for my life, family or anything else.
It seems so strange to me that we should be torn about being in God’s presence for any reason, but I have learned that for many of us we have learned to live and exist without Him. We have learned to lean to our own understanding and to use the presence of God when we get in trouble, can’t figure it out on our own, or we are sinking in the chaos of our own decisions and reasoning. We have allowed the ways of man, and the thoughts of what is accepted by this world to become our priority and God and His ways, thoughts and needs to become secondary or a last ditch effort. Our heart is far from God even though we go to church. We are caught up in making money, being right in our own eyes and satisfying the pride of life, the lust of eye and flesh. We have demoted God and chosen us over Him, forgetting that He created us unto good works for His Glory and to advance His kingdom, but He didn’t create us without given us a benefits package that affords us so much, like love, joy, peace, health, prosperity, forgiveness and eternal life. But we often find ourselves with a preference that causes us to depend on us and we will sacrifice our benefits because of lack of obedience and the lack of God’s presence in our lives.
Ty Tribbett sang a song some years ago, “There is no way I can make it without you.” But for many of us we think we can and we spend more time out of His presence than we do in His presence. We spend more time conforming to this world and its request than we do seeking God for His. I have come to learn, that when I say “take the world but give me Jesus” I mean just that. When people have forsaken me, lied on me, pushed me aside, spoken ill of me and sought to destroy me, God has been there and He has often covered me, and healed me when I had no clue I needed to be covered or healed. But most of all He loves me with an everlasting, unconditional love that caused Him to send His only begotten Son to die for me that I may have eternal life. With all that God has given me, why would I be content without His presence?
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