The Presence of God

We all know of God's peace. joy and love, but what is it?

We might think we experience His joy through small moments of happiness, but happiness is fleeting. We might think we are experiencing His peace because we feel calm, but the circumstances all of a sudden change; we get news we didn't expect and anxiety takes over. Calm has now been washed away. We might think we are experiencing love, but all of a sudden, something feels off and we are questioning and confused about our love, either for someone else or a dear friend. That is not love, that's infatuation- also fleeting. Love is not confusing.

So what are these emotions of God then? What do they feel like? How do we know it's His love, peace and joy?

PEACE

God's peace truly makes no sense. I know that is said often and isn't very descriptive, but it's the best way to describe it.

I was in a time of great struggle recently. I had nothing financially to pay bills, to put food on the table, or put gas in the car. I was in survival mode where anxiety and fear overtook me. Every day I would wake up to anxiety about what might happen today or what will happen the rest of the week if I don't figure something out. I had fear I was going to lose my place, lose my car and have nothing, which would surely make it difficult to build a business. But I heard God say, "I need you to focus on Me every day. Be present with Me."

So I chose to listen to Him and when I woke to all this anxiety and fear, I rebuked it and spoke out loud what I was grateful for instead. I did this, as I still lay in bed, until I felt all the worry wash away. I did this every morning and began to learn the power of gratitude. All of a sudden, gratitude became a habit and I wasn't waking up with fear and anxiety, but instead, I was calm. If I had a negative thought or my mind tried to focus on anxiety (which our minds do when we are in survival mode; fear and anxiety are imbedded in us through our culture and society), I rebuked it and focused on God. I knew He had a plan; I knew He was my provider, that He would sustain me, and I repeated that to myself, to the point I actually believed it and began feeling even more calm. I was still getting notices or emails about how behind I was, but God said to be present with Him and that's what I was doing. Everything else was tomorrow's problem (Matthew 6:34).

Scripture was my guide and gratitude was my monologue each and every day. I put my eyes to the heavens and focused on His Kingdom and I was truly calm in the chaos. I felt an overwhelming sense of peace in a situation that would otherwise have me crumbling and in a complete panic. I knew God was with me because this peace truly made no sense.

I recognized I was deepening my faith and growing my trust in God. The deeper I grew with God, the more trust I had in Him; the more trust I had, the greater my peace was. It was all a lesson in trusting Him with my whole life and in turn, I received peace in all circumstances. Internal peace that withstood external chaos. Peace that truly made no sense.

JOY

God's joy is imprinted on our hearts and becomes alive when we activate the Spirit within us. During my deep struggle, as I found peace within, I began to experience joy. It's like happiness amplified, but through gratitude, and radiating from the depths of the soul. Joy comes from deep within us, as that is where God placed His Holy Spirit in us. I was overcome with joy and excited to see what the day may bring and what God was going to do. I would seek His presence every day and asked Him what we should do today. I realized my relationship with God was all that mattered and my life was in His hands. I felt unexplainable excitement with every day, focused on being present in everything I did and moved with intention. Joy came when I was present in these moments of my day; I started to truly enjoy life, regardless of what was going on in my life.

LOVE

God's love is the greatest of them all because God is love (1 John 4:8). To experience His love, you must first know God; have a relationship with Him and seek Him. He is longing to hear from you, you are His creation (Colossians 1:16). In this deep struggle with Him, I experienced His great love. I had been building my relationship with Him and I knew this was a trial for me. God was testing me to see who my true God was- if it was Him or if it was money. Spoiler: I chose Him. But being present every day with Him, I started to see where He was showing up in my life and how He truly cared. Every day I still had food on the table; every day I had gas in my car. Every day I was reassured that He would provide for me, because He did. He was showing me in small ways He loved me, and wanted to see me full of joy. For example, I needed to do some work and was getting ready to head out to a coffee shop I realized I had a gift card to (no need to waste five bucks right?). But I heard God say, "no, go to your favorite coffee shop", and I fought it. Again, I didn't want to waste the very little money I had, it was okay to go some where else this time- is what I thought. The urge to go to my favorite coffee shop grew greater, so I went. I didn't want to start disobeying Him over something so small. I got there, and it turned out, I didn't have to pay for my coffee. I walked away laughing (probably looking insane) and was overwhelmed with joy. God shows up and shows us love in so many ways, we just have to pay attention. He is not one to seek your attention, but He is rather subtle. In the quiet and in the moments of every day where He is truly present, He is showing you His love. It is the greatest feeling to know how much your Creator loves you, and He loves you more than you can even imagine, for He is love.

The presence of God doesn't look like the rest of the world. Society is loud, it's confusing, it's full of deceit and comparison; it's full of anxiety and fear. There was a time before I knew God, that I was seeking these great feelings of God, but all in the wrong places. I honestly would have never felt the goodness of God in my old ways; I was blinded by the world around me. Then I started seeking God, and the more I did, the deeper my faith grew. It wasn't in the loud, obnoxious world we live in, but in the quiet spaces. I started encountering His presence in the stillness within myself and that is truly where God's presence lies. It's within you. He has given you His Spirit; He dwells within us. His presence is not found in the external, but the internal- the inner being. We must first become aware of who God is to find our identity in Him. The more we know Him, the deeper we grow with Him. The more we grow, the more we trust; when we trust in Him, we find His presence and we begin to become more like Him, more like Christ. All it takes is some faith and God will meet you where you are because He wants to be with you. He wants you to experience His presence. Let me tell you, it is pure abundance. Nothing can compare to His peace that makes no sense.