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"No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."
(Joshua 1:5, 9)
When do you feel the presence of God most in your life? I feel His peace and presence so sweetly when I am spending time with my wife, kids, and grandkids. I feel God's energizing power the most when I am preaching the Bible. I really cannot explain it. By and large, I am an introverted person. Being around people for an extended time makes me tired, and I need to rest. Extroverts are just the opposite. They feed off the energy of being with people. But when I preach God's Word, something happens to me. I am still the same person, but in a way, I am not. The Holy Spirit comes upon me and anoints me to speak with boldness. I always try to study and prepare, but the presence of God is what makes all the difference! My pastor friend Tony Buchanan says, "If the Holy Spirit is in the preparation, He will be in the presentation." I feel so energized by the presence of the Lord both when I study and prepare to preach and when I am proclaiming the Word of God. Thank You Jesus for this tremendous honor.
Dr. Charles Stanley was a Bible preacher. Most of his illustrations come from Scripture, both Old and New Testaments. Here are some examples from Scripture that speak to us about the presence of God:
In Exodus 3:4-6, Moses sees the burning bush, but it is not burning up. We read of the Presence of God before the commission to go and tell Pharaoh, "Let My people go."
"So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, 'Moses, Moses!' And he said, 'Here I am.' Then He said, 'Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.' Moreover He said, 'I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God."
In Joshua 5:13-15, before they would take the city of Jericho, Joshua had this encounter:
"And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, 'Are You for us or for our adversaries?' So He said, 'No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.' And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, 'What does my Lord say to His servant?' Then the Commander of the LORD'S army said to Joshua, 'Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.' And Joshua did so."
Stanley pointed out that in these two instances, these men removed their sandals because they were on holy ground, they were in the presence of God! Before a big task, God wants to reveal Himself to you in a powerful way. Be open to this. Gideon is another example: God narrowed his army down from 32,000 to 300 and then led them to victory. When God is with you, you will win and conquer.
May God help you to believe, to trust that God can and will do the miraculous in and through you.
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