Oct 21 - Presence = Fullness and Joy

You show me the path of life.

In your presence there is fullness of joy.

Psalm 16:11

God brought Israel into the Promised Land.

And God wants to bring you into the Promised Land. But what is YOUR Promised Land?

Yesterday at church, I made the case that God’s Presence is our greatest blessing and is, thus, our true Promised Land. (Quick analysis: In the Old Testament physical places sometimes prefigured New Testament spiritual realities. For example, where did God’s people go to meet God in the Old Testament? To a physical temple made of stone. In the New Testament where do God’s people meet him? To a spiritual place, deep within their hearts. The Apostle says, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells within you?” – 1 Cor 3:16.)

Just as the Promised Land existed as a physical reality -- whether or not the Israelites were living there or wandering in the wilderness – God’s presence (our spiritual Promised Land) exists as a spiritual reality (and a spiritual guarantee to all believers) whether we are experiencing it daily or choosing to continue wandering in a prolonged spiritual wilderness.

That’s a long sentence. Read it again and again until it sinks in. Are you experiencing God’s presence daily and powerfully? Or are you still wandering in a spiritual wilderness?

God’s presence is promised (indeed, guaranteed) to all believers. Thus, if you are not experiencing it fully, the problem is on your end, not on God’s. Tomorrow, I’ll help you discover how to receive the blessing of God’s presence more and more fully. Today, I simply want to help you desire that gift!

What is the blessing of God’s presence in our life? Read today’s verse.

      It is fullness.

      It is joy.

     And it is guidance. This Psalm tells us that God wants to show you the path to life … to true life … to full life … to joyful life … to abundance, peace, hope, encouragement, and blessing.

That’s what just one verse says! And that’s just the tip of the iceberg of God’s revelation about His Presence! Do you want to discover the fullness of life? Do you want to discover abundance, peace, hope, blessing, and joy?!! If so, it’s time to choose. Will it be more wilderness or more Presence?! (And what’s the one thing, the one sin, the one lacking discipline that you know you need to do to escape the wilderness and discover God more fully?!)

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who’s shaking any remaining

wilderness dust off his feet

and is chasing after God!