DESIRE HIS PRESENCE

04_13

“If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to his dwelling! I would state my case before him…”

Job 23:3-4

It was like any other night and I went out for a walk as I often did; but this time it was different. I felt in complete inner turmoil, as if Jesus was absent in the middle of a time of trial in my life. I was asking, “God where are you?” Later, I was able to understand that in the middle of a trial, you may feel like God is not really there. When this happens, your mind begins to inflate the problem and it seems much bigger than it really is. However, when we have the answer and everything returns to normal, we realize that the problem really originated in our heart.

Today, there are many people who, like Job, are worried that God is somewhere out in the universe and is completely absorbed by His many occupations. This is why they start crying out to God saying, “Where are you?” We always have to remember that He is closer than we can ever imagine.

The Apostle Paul in his message to the Athenians said, “God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring’” (Acts 17:27-28). Whoever seeks an encounter with God, will find that it’s not hard, because all we have to do is reach out and He is there. He is as close as the air we breathe. As it was revealed through the prophet Jeremiah, “You will seek me and you will find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
“When I was in my thirty-ninth week of pregnancy, the doctor told me he would have to admit me to hospital. In the days that followed I found myself in a place of complete uncertainty, trying to find God in the middle of everything. I was admitted to hospital at two in the afternoon. Later that evening I got up quietly to use the restroom, but something in my body prevented me from doing so. After this, the doctor decided to break my waters. When he did this he discovered that the baby had had a bowel movement inside my womb. This indicated that the baby was in distress. Straight away, they had to proceed with a c-section to prevent the baby inhaling any of the stained fluid. It hadn’t even been ten minutes since the whole thing started and I was already in the operation room giving birth. The first thing the doctor did when leaving the room was hug my husband and say, “Your baby is a miracle, I can see God is with you!” My husband did not understand the magnitude of the situation because the c-section had gone well, or so he thought. When the doctor came back he tied two knots on a string in order to explain what had happened to the umbilical cord. It’s an amazing thing that through the umbilical cord the baby receives his oxygen and food. The doctor was not able to understand how my baby had survived with the knots in the cord. We know that it was through prayer and divine protection that my son was born perfectly healthy.” (Walkiria Pereyra)

TODAY’S DECLARATION
“I desired to know God and I found Him through Jesus. Now there is light, joy, hope and life in my heart.”

Today’s post is an excerpt from Pastor Cesar Castellanos’ book, Declarations of Power for 365 Days of the Year: Volume Two.

TODAY’S BIBLE READING

    • Old Testament: Judges 4-5; Psalms 83
    • New Testament: Mark 5:21-43; 1 Corinthians 9:13-27

DESIRE HIS PRESENCE