Indwelling God

A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also

(John 14:19, NKJV)

Our experiences in life are very much reliant on what we have learnt through our five senses.  We know and relate to what we experience through what we see, hear, feel, taste and smell.  What we have been exposed to through either of the above senses, becomes our source of information for decision making, expectation or action.  We learn by the same senses and unconsciously, we tend to understand situations and things on the premise of our past experiences.  Each time we meet something new, we form new connections as we learn to identify it, adding it on to the unconscious memory we keep so that when we meet the same thing again, we recognize it.  The five senses are a source of information for us and the more we deliberately develop our understanding of the messages they give us, the more we learn to understand what our senses are communicating and the more equipped we are to face different situations.

Reflecting on the above, I have realized that anything outside my natural senses becomes difficult not only to understand but also to accept.  In our reference verse, Jesus was talking to His disciples who were used to experiencing Him through their five senses. Yet He now tells them that in a little while, the world would not see Him any longer, meaning that they would not use their sight to know Him.  At the same time, He says that His disciples will still see Him for He will live in them.  Seeing Jesus would no longer be with their physical eyes for He will be resident in them.  This is where we find ourselves today. 

We do not see God in the physical as we see other human beings and to many, this is a challenge for we do not know how to relate to one whom we cannot see or touch in the body.  Beloved, the bible tells us that we do not walk or live by sight but by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7), we are called to a walk of faith, it is a heart issue not a physical matter and we are reminded that blessed are those who believe even when they have not seen (John 20:29).  The promise is on believing in God though we have not seen Him, once we do so, we get to see Him in our hearts, we get to know and experience Him in our lives, we sense Him deep within our spirits and by the help of the Holy Spirit, our spiritual senses are quickened to know, experience and commune with God as He dwells within us. 

It all begins on the inside, in our spirits by faith in God, we believe and so we live.  We agree with Paul that we believe and so we speak (2 Corinthians 4:13).  Apostle Paul in this chapter, encourages us to keep our attention on the unseen, he tells us not to look at things which are seen for they are temporal but to keep our focus on those which are unseen for they are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18).  The Holy Spirit of God helps us cultivate this relationship with our indwelling God, Jesus told His disciples that the Holy Spirit, our helper, will teach us all things (John 14:26).  Beloved, though a lot is going on in our physical spaces, let us determine to strengthen our inner senses to see that which is eternal.  When we do, we shall experience the peace of God which Jesus gave us (John 14:27) a peace that passes all understanding.  His peace comes from within us as we see Him in our spirits, a promise of God to us, perfect peace. His peace my brethren is a mark of His presence, an assurance of His indwelling presence in our lives.

Thoughts

How have you experienced God’s presence within you?

How are you strengthening your spiritual senses?

Are your natural senses crowding your spiritual senses?