Have you ever felt like God was far and that His presence was not with you? We all have at some point, I'm sure.
That's why it's such a wonderful thing to be reminded over and over again in scripture that because Jesus came down to earth, we now have a High Priest that bridges the gap between us and God and that we can come freely to enter His presence.
There is nothing quite like the peace, joy and splendour that we experience in God's presence. All other experiences fail to match the experience of being with God. And while many people think that God is a far-off celestial being who comes only as He pleases, He is not. He is Emmanuel, meaning God with us.
We can experience the presence of God through the move of the Holy Spirit because Jesus made a way for us to come to Him freely. Here are 10 verses that encourage and exhort us to experience the presence of God.
Exodus 33:14 — "And he said, 'My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.'"
Joshua 1:9 — "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."
Psalm 23:4 — "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."
Psalm 27:4 — "One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple."
Jeremiah 29:13 — "You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart."
Matthew 18:20 — "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."
Matthew 28:19-20 — "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
John 14:16 — "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever."
John 15:5 — "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."
Acts 3:19-20 — "Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus."
