“The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him. Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What does he mean by saying, ‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?” – John 7:32-36
When my wife Grace and I were first married, we each had to learn the ministry of presence. She would become so busy with tasks that she’d forget to sit down and snuggle up. I would get so buried in books that I wasn’t looking up and listening enough. The longer we are together, the more we appreciate the ministry of presence. Just being together is a blessing.
The God of the Bible fully understands the ministry of presence. The Gospel of John opens by talking about this very fact that Jesus was present with the Father and came to be present with us:
- John 1:1-3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
- John 1:14 “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”
Not only did God come to the earth to be present with people, He travelled around to meet with various people in a variety of places. Jesus was present at a wedding to unveil the Kingdom by changing water into wine. Jesus was present late one night to answer the questions of a scholar named Nicodemus. Jesus went to Samaria to be present with one woman at a well. Jesus was present in the rural region of Galilee, and also went to the big city of Jerusalem. Not only was Jesus physically present, He was also emotionally and spiritually present with people.
Jesus also told the people present with Him on the earth that they could not be present with Him in the Kingdom unless they knew Him. The principle is this – Jesus decides to be present with you, and you need to decide to be present with Him.
How have you experienced God’s presence in your life?