Are we really PRESENT with the Lord?

Would you think about this with me for a moment or two.
We that are followers of Jesus the Christ, desire and even crave the presence of the Lord in our lives.
At a minimum we believe that His presence is with us always, and the truth of God is that He is present everywhere, always, and at all times. David said he could not go anywhere that God’s presence was not. So, how could we not be present with Him? Follow me for just a little bit, and it will be worth your while, or you can have your money back.
Have you ever been in a conversation with a friend, relative or especially a spouse, and you were not fully present with them? If you haven’t already caught on, perhaps you are not really present with me as I write this short exposition. Your eyes are taking in the words, and part of your brain is processing the thoughts, but the top level part of your mind is busy sorting your grocery list. Perhaps it is already critiquing the upcoming ball game or rehashing the “conversation” you had with the boss today, whether that boss was your boss or your wife. Maybe, your worrying about your weight, the kid’s grades or whether Uncle Elmo will really come to visit next spring.
The most obvious illustration I can give is from a husbands point of view, but I guess in one out of a million it may work the other way. The woman is a very verbal creation that needs to talk to someone, especially her mate, about anything and everything. She needs to know that the husband is present not only in body but in soul. This feeds the woman’s voracious appetite for security. The husband part of this equation simply put is, we are apes. We only have a few basic needs and if you are over fourteen and reading this I don’t need to explain, you already know what they are. Real listening is being present, our wives know when we are present and when we are not. This dynamic is very similar in all relationships we are a party to and even extends to our relationship and interactions with God.
In all our earnestness to have the manifest presence of God, we often leave out one half of the equation, ourselves. We are praying “to” God instead of with God, we are giving Him our laundry list of how He should change the world, and, all the while, we are trying to figure out in our heads the next church service, how I am going to beat the traffic Monday morning, or what I’m going to have for lunch. Perhaps it is real important stuff like how will I pay the rent, but then we are not really present with God. He is surely present with us, but He might in fact, feel left out in the cold.
We can be present with God, but it will be a fight, a fight for the mastery of our very own soul. The risks are minimal, and the payoff is huge. The only cost is our whole life, but remember, Jesus said we would gain it for losing.
The first line of battle is to recognize that we are even not present at all. Next time you pray, next time you worship, the next time you read God’s word, pay attention to where your soul is really at. Is it at the grocery store, the ball game, at work or in the presence of the Lord?
It will take quite an effort to bring ourselves in, and to bring every thought captive and make it obey. But the weapons we have are mighty in God to pull down these strongholds.
I don’t have three steps to being present with God. What it really boils down to is a battle of wills, His or ours. If we give up our self-will to His-will, we will win the war.
Imagine with me if you can, what will it be like, when God has your soul, intertwined with His own. Where else would you rather be? What habits would drop off? What worries would fade? The fears would all fall off, and the possibilities arise, of what God could do with a man or a woman who was fully present with Him.

Acts 3:19 (NKJV) Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord…

casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7 (NKJV)

God cares more for us than anyone does or can. It is not within our ability to care for people even one small fraction as much as Jesus does. The same goes for people that care for us, mothers, fathers and, yes, believe it or not pastors!
If we could get this fact down in us, we would stop worrying about what others think of us, or how much we are loved or cared for by acquaintances, friends, and family. If we could just get a good grasp on “Jesus cares for me”, we would stop analyzing every action made by others in the microscope of our small world.
Paul the apostle said his reason for praying was, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,
that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height-- to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; Ephesians 3:16-19 (NKJV)
In other words, if we would spend more time thinking on the incredible love and care of God for us, than thinking about what God or others should currently be doing for us, our lives would be powerful beyond our current comprehension. We would then be more concerned about how we treat the world around us than how we are treated.
Then the message of the cross, which truly is, that Jesus cared more for us than we could possibly care for others, would have a greater impact in today’s consumed with self world.
So, instead of trying so hard to care more, let’s get a better vision of just exactly how much Jesus Christ truly cares for us. Then we could say, Jesus loves you, and it would ring true and with power.
Peace- Mike Matheson