“Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”
Psalm 139:7-10 (NIV)
Since a previous meditation was about finding our divine purpose and living to fulfill it, this is part two of that message. I need to clarify that I haven’t lived my entire Christian life in obedience to His divine purpose. After living for myself much of the time, missing many opportunities and stumbling in and out of sin, I am nothing more than an example of someone who has received more of God’s patience, grace and mercy than I ever deserved. In my late twenties I ignored the prompting of the Spirit to share my faith with a coworker, and a few weeks later, that coworker committed suicide. After that, evangelism became a passion for me and will continue to give me a sense of purpose. I never want to miss my cue again, and twenty years later, I shared my faith with another coworker and prayed with him. He invited Jesus to take over his stress filled life and was so grateful, that he wrote a letter thanking me, before he and his family moved out of state to take a new job. There’s no greater satisfaction than knowing we said the right thing to someone at the right time. In spite of the highs and lows of my obedience, God has been more merciful to me than I could ever expect. He gives us all a chance to start over, and to make up for our past failures. It’s why I believe in the great commission. When Jesus said to go into the world and preach the gospel to every person, He wasn’t speaking only to ordained ministers. Anyone can share their faith with an acquaintance who is going through a divorce, or with the parent whose teenager has suicidal tendencies, or with someone who just received a serious medical diagnosis. Evangelism is reaching out to anyone, wherever they are, with the simple faith as we know it and live it, day to day. I pray a very simple yet powerful prayer each day by asking, “Holy Spirit, fill me with more of you.” When I pray that prayer, sometimes it brings an opportunity to share my faith, and there are rare moments when I experience an emotional surge of His presence. It happened recently while I was driving to do a routine errand. I had an inspiring thought which I quickly wrote down at a stoplight, to use in an upcoming meditation, and it felt like the Holy Spirit was right in the car with me. There was an overwhelming presence of God’s love and I was wiping my tears at every stoplight after that, all the way home. By the time I got home, I was wiped out, but in a good way. It was as if the scripture came to life that reads,
“If we will draw near to God, He will draw near to us.”(James 4:8)
When the disciples met the resurrected Jesus walking on the road to Emmaus, even before recognizing Him, they urged Him to stay with them. His presence made them want more of Him, and His presence is the same today. He is pleased when we desire Him, more than what He does for us. The Lord is gracious and compassionate, always willing to manifest His presence in the most unlikely places and times, because He loved us first, and He desires to be loved for who He is, the same as we do. Lord, manifest your presence to every reader today, by your Holy Spirit, and let them sense the overwhelming love that you have for them. Amen