The Palpable Presence of God
“Yet He is actually not far from each one of us.” ~Acts 17:27
When it comes to my walk with the Lord, sometimes I wonder if I put too much emphasis on feeling His presence. The Bible seems to put more emphasis on what we think about God compared to our feeling Him near. Sometimes we feel very close to the Lord and sometimes we feel afar off, but the biblical premium is put on what we believe rather than how we feel.
If we’re not careful, we can establish and develop our belief in God on the shaky foundation of our oscillating feelings. This is dangerous and unhealthy. In a recent sermon, I quoted an author who rightfully said, “The reality of God is measured by the truthfulness of His speech, not my grasp of His presence.”
And certainly this carries into corporate worship. To be sure, we are to worship from the heart! And, of course, when we worship, we want to feel God near. But are the times we worship without an “encounter” with God inadequate? Is it possible to both worship from the heart and not gush with a sense of the nearness of God? Similarly, sometimes when we hear God’s Word preached, we’re not exactly bowled over! Does an unscintillating sermon — when it feels like we’re unmoved by the Holy Spirit — render the hearing of the sermon redundant? Did God’s Word return to Him void? I think not. As I quoted recently, “I don’t remember 99% of the meals I have eaten, but they kept me alive. God uses faithful, forgettable sermons.”
Perhaps I need to conduct a spiritual check-up and discern whether I put too much emphasis on feeling God (in corporate worship or otherwise). Do we have a self-imposed, unfounded pressure to chase after — or lament the lack of — mountain-top experiences?
And yet! There are times when the presence of God is very tangible! Although the Christian is always indwelt by the Triune God (John 14:15-23), there are times when the presence of God is palpable. Whenever the minister faithfully preaches God’s Word, the Holy Spirit speaks. And yet, there seem to be times when the minister feels the Holy Spirit flow through him in great power. Perhaps you’re aware of times in your own life when you’ve felt the nearness and power of God in particularly tangible ways!
I think George Frideric Handel could relate to that of which I’m referring. Handel composed his masterpiece, Messiah, in 1741. Remarkably, he wrote all quarter-million notes in just over three weeks. But when he came to composing the “Hallelujah Chorus,” shut away in his room, he seemed to have felt the presence of God like never before. Borrowing from 2 Corinthians 12:2, he said later, “Whether I was in the body or out of the body when I wrote it, I know not.” With tears in his eyes, he was captured, captivated, subdued, and overwhelmed by the reality that the Lord God omnipotent reigneth and that Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, shall reign forever.
Christian, let us not devalue our walk with God — or our worship of God — when we don’t feel His nearness and power in a profoundly palpable way. Likewise, let us not make an idol of emotional spiritual highs, especially those which bypass the informing of the intellect. After all, God ordinarily operates in the ordinary and is imminent regardless of how we feel (1 Cor. 6:19). And yet, at the same time, let us not downplay those moments when God makes Himself so near to us that we can taste Him! When, as the old 19th century Scottish pastors used to say, we get a sight within the veil. Let us not make an idol of those experiences, nor despair when we have them not, but let us pray for the Lord to grant them to us.
Rev. Rob Dykes, Pastor of Preaching & Congregational Care