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. Finally, 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).
Repentant Magalan 1635 Georges de La Tour, National Gallery
God promises that God is always with us, beside us. Always. All the time. How do we feel that presence? My experience is that when I connect to the God within me, the Christ within me, and when I can see the God, the Christ, in my neighbor, I feel 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 could do something we did not think we were able do, we feel 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 gaze outdoors to notice the birds feeding near our windows without feeling the presence of something greater than myself.
Gratitude helps us put on new glasses so that we can recognize 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 as we curl up in our favorite chair with a favorite book.
Joanna. joannaseibert.com