God’s Presence
“When like Elijah you’re surprised by sheer silence, listen to God speaking deep inside. When like Peter you’re scared by the wind on the sea, look to Jesus right there with you. When bedtime nears, stop and review how the Spirit caught you by the hand and caught you off guard with love. Hold these close to your heart and go to sleep.”—Br. Luke Ditewig, SSJE, from “Brother, Give Us a Word,” a daily email sent to friends and followers of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist (SSJE.org).
God’s promise is that God is always with us, beside us. Always. All the time. How do we feel that presence? My experience is that when I am connected to the God within me, the Christ within me, and when I can see the God, the Christ, in my neighbor, I am feeling God’s presence.
When we feel the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control, and kindness (Galatians 5:22-23), we are feeling God’s presence. When suddenly we realize we were able to do something we did not think we were up to doing, we are feeling God’s presence.
During troublesome times, God shows up in the presence of someone who loves us just as we are. This epiphany can take the form of a phone call, an email, a snail mail, or even a text.
It is difficult to spend any time outdoors in nature or even to look outdoors to see the birds feeding near our windows without feeling the presence of something greater than myself.
Gratitude helps us to put on new glasses, so we can see God’s presence in our lives.
Forgiving ourselves and others keeps us from putting up the barriers that prevent us from seeing God in our lives.
Beauty in art, music, the sacred word, poetry, fiction, and nonfiction writings can open up our eyes and ears and mind to see God sitting right beside us—on a bench at the National Gallery, or in the center orchestra section, or with us as we’re curled up in our favorite chair.
Joanna. joannaseibert.com
