For many of us, church played a huge part in our upbringing. Monday through Friday were dedicated to school; Saturdays were for chores, cartoons, and errands, and Sundays began with church and ended with preparing to do it all over again.
As we grew older, we only replaced school with work, cartoons with dinner, and cocktails, while the obligatory church attendance remained. I also believe that it's this sense of obligation that has placed us at a disadvantage in how we approach life.
We've limited our exposure and interaction with God to a once-weekly visit, often reducing our encounter with Him to an emotional response to good singing and music. We often sit through a sermon, nodding in agreement with a quotable sentence. Yet, we have no real intention of allowing the Word we've heard to guide our actions, intentions, emotions, and thoughts in the weeks ahead.
Please don't think I'm casting judgement, because I'm not. How can I when I've been equally as guilty? It's the routine that we've fallen into that makes me a firm believer in the idea that Satan has no qualms with us attending church. He's fully aware that there is little impact a 2-hour sermon can make when we've already decided that attendance is merely part of our duty.
We've been taught well how to invoke what we assume to be God's presence in church. But have we really been taught to recognize that His presence remains with us daily, ready to be accessed?
What Does His Presence Mean?
In the Old Testament, when Moses died, it didn't mean that God's promise to the Children of Israel died along with him. Joshua was his successor, and with that came the responsibility of continuing where Moses left off. I think Joshua 1:5 answered the question Joshua asked in his heart. I can only imagine that question being something like, "How am I going to do this?" God's response: "I will be with you as I was with Moses." His presence.
God's presence in our lives isn't defined by the tears we cry during praise and worship or the goosebumps we feel in the middle of a service. They may be the way our bodies respond, but that's not all He is. His presence is far more tangible, more real, and more beneficial to us in our everyday living.
Joshua was facing a critical moment when he was announced as Moses' successor. Under Moses' leadership, the Children of Israel had witnessed the plagues in Egypt; they'd seen the Red Sea swallow Pharaoh and his chariots only after they crossed through it. They'd witnessed manna from heaven, water from a rock, and the presence of God guiding them day and night. They'd even witnessed rebels swallowed up in an earthquake after they tried challenging Moses and Aaron's authority.
The generation Joshua led didn't have many of these direct experiences, as many of them were either born in the wilderness during the 40 years of wandering or were quite young when their parents initially left Egypt.
God didn't promise Joshua that He would do for him all the things He did for and with Moses. He didn't promise that Joshua's experience with Him would be like it was with Moses. What God promised was that, like with Moses, He would be with him.
God's presence with us is in the form of wisdom when we don't know what decision to make. It's in ingenious and creative ideas that change the course of our lives. It's in the form of a subtle voice warning us against taking an offer, entering a business arrangement, or making a purchase that can be harmful to us. His presence is revealed when He tells us which side corner to take so we avoid traffic. His presence is with us when we get the sudden urge to stop and pray for someone without reason.
His presence isn't something that appears when we need it and disappears when we're done. If that were the case, it would make Him a liar when He said, in Deuteronomy 31:8, "I'll never leave you nor forsake you..." So, if He's ever present with us, it's really up to us to become more acquainted with Him.
Practicing His Presence
Becoming acquainted with His presence requires intentionality. The more we mystify His presence and treat it as separate and apart from Him, the harder it becomes to develop a relationship with Him. Relationship is where it all begins. You may be at the point of clutching your pearls and declaring that you have a relationship with God because you talk to Him every morning and every night. I'm not judging you, but I know people who talk to their dogs more often than that.
We often treat prayer like a monologue. It's our time to get down and tell God everything we have to say, make our requests, and seal it with Jesus' name and an amen. Practicing His presence requires that we allow Him to speak without requiring that He perform some magic trick to confirm it's Him.
It's consulting Him before we make decisions instead of making the decision and asking Him to steer the outcome. It's being honest in our conversations with Him about the things going on in our lives. It's this honesty that gives way to vulnerability, and being truly vulnerable before Him helps us become less resistant to what He has to say.
Practicing His presence means having ongoing conversations with Him, inviting Him to be part of your daily journey, and becoming increasingly familiar with His voice.
Yes, God promised to be with Joshua, and He was, but that didn't mean that Joshua didn't need to speak with Him and seek His counsel. When we look at Joshua's life and leadership, before major decisions, except for one, Scripture reveals he consulted God. And that one time when he failed to seek God came with its own consequences that lasted for generations. Practicing His presence requires acknowledging His presence.
Another way to practice His presence is time in His Word. Please, release your pearls. I'm not attacking your daily Bible App devotionals. I am, however, asking: what are you doing with what you're reading? The reason we treat prayer like a one-sided conversation is that we aren't sure what we should expect God to say. We're uncertain of what to expect because we're unfamiliar with the foundation of His voice...His written Word.
This isn't about memorizing Scripture. But it is about allowing Scripture to be the roadmap for your everyday living and decision-making.
It really does you no good to be saddled with, let's say, a financial problem, rehearse your obligatory daily prayers before God, and read, "Jesus wept" - John 11:35 because it's what your app populated for the day. When the impossible-to-pay bill comes, it won't be Jesus weeping.
Don't get me wrong. Sometimes, those app verses are exactly what we need just as we need them. But there are times when we must do some digging to find out exactly what God has to say about our challenge. This is when we can tell Him in prayer, 'Lord, this is what You've said about this problem I have, and I need You to show me how to be obedient to Your voice so that what You said in Your Word becomes a reality in my life.'
None of what I've said replaces church attendance or worship. These two are essential for living this life. However, I hope that our approach to them moves from obligation and emotional responses to a true awareness of His presence.
I hope it opens our eyes to the reality that the God of the universe, the Creator of all things seen and unseen, is not only with us, but also desires the kind of relationship with us that permits Him access to every part of our lives so He can guide us on this journey.