Reflecting His Presence

“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?” (Psalm 139:7)
When the Lord called Jonah and commissioned him to preach a message of repentance and salvation to the evil city of Nineveh Jonah’s first reaction was to run as fast as he could in the other direction. This can also be our reaction when faced with the challenge of standing up for God and his Word in the dark places of our land. We can be both comforted and challenged by the words of King David in Psalm 139. Not only is God’s presence everywhere, but wherever we find ourselves, his hand will guide us and protect us.
“If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me” (Psalm 139:9-10).
The more that we yield to God’s presence and surrender our lives to Jesus, the more we appreciate who he is and all that he has done for us. By securing our salvation through his death on the cross and empowering us to live for him through his Holy Spirit, Jesus inspires us to live our lives according to the high calling placed on us. This is the great message of the Bible – reconciliation with God. When we truly experience the mercy and blessing that God has showered upon us, it is impossible to keep the good news to ourselves. But more than this, our personal encounters with the Living God can become a springboard for bringing his message of truth and love to a nation that is becoming disillusioned with their failing idols of money, worldly success or false religion. As our lives reflect the love, joy, peace and security we receive from our Heavenly Father they will become attractive to the community in which we live.
As Jonah submitted to the will of God he saw a whole city repent and turn to the Lord, but even in his rebellion a boat full of sailors was saved! So let us follow Psalm 139 verse 23 and invite the Lord to search our hearts, try us and know our anxieties. Then, striding boldly down the path the Lord has prepared for us, we can echo the words of the apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans:
“So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Romans 1:15-16)