Presence

Your word of the year is presence! But what does that mean for your 2023 and beyond? Keep reading to hear just what the Bible says about feeling God's presence in your life daily and more.

The key to living in this life—and the next—is to daily experience the power of the presence of the almighty God. When we enter God’s presence, we should recognize that we are experiencing both the closeness and the majesty of God. Being with him includes both the joy of intimate friendship and the awe of ultimate respect. Obedience to him is then the result of understanding what an honor it is to live in and experience his presence. Through his Holy Spirit, God promises to be with us always if we just ask him. When we accept him as Lord of our lives, he forgives us and purifies us on the inside so that he can then reside in us. 

How do I know God is with me? 

PSALM 23:6 | Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

PSALM 139:5, 7 | You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. . . . I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!

ROMANS 8:38-39 | And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Bible, God’s word to you, promises that when you have a relationship with God, his presence is always with you. When you believe this promise, you will start to see events in your life as evidence of his presence with and love for you. 

JOHN 14:16-17 | “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.”

EPHESIANS 1:14 | The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people.

2 CORINTHIANS 1:22 | And he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us.

When you place your trust in Jesus, God gives you his Spirit as your constant  companion and guide. The Holy Spirit assures you in your heart of God’s active presence all day every day. 

PSALM 9:9-10 | The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O LORD, do not abandon those who search for you.

JONAH 1:17 | Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.

MATTHEW 28:20 | “Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

How can I better experience God’s presence in my life? 

PSALM 145:18 | The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth. The Lord invites you to call on him without hesitation. He promises to reveal himself to you if your heart is sincere in wanting to know him rather than just wanting to use him as a good-luck charm or magic potion.

2 CHRONICLES 7:14 | “If my people . . . will . . . seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins.”

Sin drives a wedge between people and God. God reveals himself when you turn away from your sinful habits and attitudes by confessing them to him and then turn toward him to be clean on the inside. Only then can you begin to experience his presence in your life. 

PSALM 27:4 | The one thing I ask of the Lord—the thing I seek most—is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.

You can know God through earnest and sincere worship. 

JEREMIAH 29:12-13 | “When you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.”

Seeking and finding God requires consistent and purposeful prayer. 

MATTHEW 7:7 | “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for.”

God invites you to approach him as a child approaches a loving father. 

1 CHRONICLES 28:20 | “Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you.” 

This year, let God's presence penetrate every facet of your life. He is with you always, and because of that, you can face anything that life brings your way. DaySpring has products and resources just for you to help you stay present and feel God's presence in 2023. Start each morning in His Word with the new Thinline Reference Bible from the DaySpring Signature Collection and pick up a devotional like A Prayer A Day for Hope & Encouragement that will keep your mind and heart focused on a new theme each month throughout the year. Sit down with a hot cup of coffee in this Be Still + Know mug and work through an intentional wordsearch book that points your heart toward Jesus and His presence, The Wordsearch Book: Presence.

Looking for more? DaySpring has hundreds of products and resources to help you experience and express the life-changing message of God's love.