Cultivate

Psalm 27:⁸ “When You said, “Seek My face [in prayer, require My presence as your greatest need],” my heart said to You, “Your face, O Lord, I will seek [on the authority of Your word].” (AMP)

We will kick off today’s devotional with our final thought from yesterday which is, the places you are present determine the presence you carry. If you want to carry light, the presence of God which you will carry in the Name of Jesus, you need to spend time with light. The adage says: When the leaf spends time with the soap, after a while the leaf becomes like soap. Cultivating God’s presence, practicing God’s presence are totally indispensable. Spend time with God, tarry in His presence, and just stay there. After a while, when you show up, God shows up because you are carrying His presence.

Sadly, what some people carry is disorder, when they show up, disorder sips into everything. For some, what they are carrying is confusion. Everywhere may be peaceful but once they show up, there is confusion everywhere. The point is, where you are present determines the presence that you carry. You need to hunger and thirst for God’s presence. You need to pay the price in the place of worship and in the place of prayer to soak in God’s presence. Most times we assume that God is present when He is not. There is a story in Luke 2:41-50 (please read), these ten verses of scripture bring this out powerfully. Luke 2:⁴³ “After the celebration was over, they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn’t miss him at first”. Jesus was not present, and He was not missed.

The question is, if Jesus pulls back from you, will you miss Him? I pray that Jesus will not pull back from you, but peradventure that happens, I pray that you will know immediately. How come Jesus was not present and they did not miss Him? It is because they assumed He was present. Every time you come to God based on assumptions, you will most likely miss God. People assume that if they sing three fast songs and three slow songs, then they are worshiping. The truth is, that does not guarantee worship. You can sing all the fast songs and sing all the slow songs, increase the tempo of the song, or drag the song, that does not guarantee that Jesus is there. Luke 2:⁴⁴ “because they assumed he was among the other travelers…” Do not assume. Luke 2:44-46 shows us the progression of their search for Jesus.

When they finally found Jesus, he said “…Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49). When people lose the presence of God, they first search among their friends and relatives, then they check religious proximity. But the fastest way and this is secret, to reconnect to heaven and get back to God is to find where two or three are gathered in His Name, because that is where He is. (Matthew 18:20).

Prayer: Father, make me a carrier of Your presence, in Jesus Name. Amen!