They that wait upon the Lord

Dear friends,
How are you doing? So often, I tell you about how I am doing and pray that things are well with you, but today I want to ask, "How are you doing; how are you really doing?". There's an old rock song that has the line, "I just dropped in to see what condition,your condition is in." The scripture says that we are seated in heavenly places, far above all rule and authority. That is our position, but if you are like me sometimes my condition and my position don't line up. I want to talk about His presence today, because I believe that if we are in His presence we experience the good of our position and our condition changes.

When I talk about being in the presence of the Lord what do I mean. The psalmist made it clear that we cannot escape His presence and the Lord Himself promised He would always be with us. So what am I talking about. I am talking about His manifest presence. Jesus said," For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them." If we know that God is omnipresent any way, there must be something special about the two or more gathered in His name. I believe it is His manifest presence. In His manifest presence there is often a tangible awareness that the Lord is present.

A couple of weeks ago I talked about those who seek after the Lord's presence as in Psalms 84, will make springs in the desert. Those springs are the overflow of His presence. Let's look at a few scriptures that make mention of the presence of the Lord. There are many.

Psalms 16:11 In thy presence is fulness of joy. Have you found that when you encounter the Lord's presence that the things that were troubling you seem to disappear. There is a sense of peace and well-being. Hopefulness arises within us.

Isaiah 40:31 But those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. What are they waiting on? They are waiting on the presence of the Lord. The presence of the Lord gives us renewed strength. The presence of the Lord allows us to soar above our circumstances. The stronger the wind currents, the higher the eagle soars. The presence of the Lord brings endurance. If are experiencing His presence we can endure and continue on. There is nothing more tiring than to go through what we feel are our Christian (religious) duties when God is not in it.

Acts 3:19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come fro the presence of the Lord. The verse is to unbelievers, but there is truth relevant to all of us and that is that times of refreshing come from the presence of the Lord. Many a time in my life I have come into the meeting house tired and discouraged but when I made a choice to worship and praise Him I found myself refreshed in His presence. God inhabits the praises of His people. He dwells in our praise. That is the reason that satan resists praise.

As I thought about what I might share today, I remembered the disciples rowing with all their might against a contrary wind into the wee hours of the morning. They must have been very tired and when they saw Jesus walking on the water they thought He was ghost and that they were going to die. But He said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going. John 6:20,21 Isn't it amazing how the presence of the Lord can accomplish instantly what man in His best, well-intended efforts cannot accomplish. I had this thought and perhaps I have shared it before, but there are some of us who have been straining hard against the oars. We've grown tired and weary. Yes, we started across in obedience to the Lord and we encountered a contrary wind and it seemed that the Lord was not there. Lord, we want to see you walking on the water, but more than that we need you in the boat. Lord some of us need an immediately. I heard a pastor share that the key to church growth was in Mark 2. And again He entered Capernaum after some days and it was noised abroad that Jesus was in the house. Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer any room to receive them, not even near the door. and He preached the word to them. Mark 2:1,2 What we need is the presence of the Lord. In His presence we are changed from strength to strength and glory to glory and faith to faith.

Lord, I pray today that all who are weary, discouraged, and dry might be refreshed by your presence, even this day. We need you Lord in this hour more than ever before. Come, Lord Jesus in manifest presence into the lives of those who are crying out to you now, in Jesus name, Amen.

I finish as I began. How are you doing? Be blessed.
In His love,
Herb Dean