We are positioned in a unique place in these days. And I just keep thinking—what if, we are forever changed? What if we learn, over these next days or weeks or months, how to recognize and respond more quickly to the Spirit of God? What if we learned to rest in His Presence? So much is shaking right now. What if we actually found our security in Jesus? What if knowing Him wasn’t just theory? What if relaxing in His love and listening for His voice aren’t just possible for “everybody else”?

We talk about being in the presence of God. We hear others talk of it, and we wonder what they mean. We long for it even if we don’t know how to define it. To dwell in the presence of our Creator? To look into the face of our Master? To kneel at His feet? To rest in Him? Even if we believe that it is possible, it is sometimes hard to imagine what it might look like in our everyday.

I am convinced that God’s plan has forever been to usher us into His presence. From before the creation of the world, He was prepared not only to send a Savior but to be the Savior. He was prepared to dwell among us—to dress Himself in human frailty and submit Himself to death—in order that we might dwell with Him. Through the sacrifice of the very Son of God, a way has been opened for us to come boldly before His throne (Hebrews 4:14-16). He delights to know us and to make Himself known.

I am convinced that we are welcome. I am not always sure what that means. What is it to seek the presence of One we cannot see? What does that look like in my life? What does it look like in yours?

Here’s the trouble I sometimes have: God is intangible and invisible.

But the Lord has met me so faithfully on the pages of the gospels, teaching me who He is in the way that the Man of Christ dealt with the women He encountered. The Image of the Invisible God walked among His people. We will watch Jesus bend to heal a crippled woman (Luke 13:10-17), and we will recognize that His Spirit still stoops to help us stand. We will encounter a Savior who took the time to listen, who bid a broken woman tell Him the whole truth (Mark 5:33), and we will realize that His Spirit still invites us to bring our broken hearts to do the same. We will watch women receive back their dead, and we will find that not only did the Savior come to save us from death, but He sent His Spirit to breathe us back to life.

I read of these women in the gospels, the ones who encountered Jesus face to face—the ones who sat at His feet and clung to His robe and sought Him in the crowd. I think that nothing would make me braver or bolder than to wrap my arms around the Man of Christ, to sit beside Him, to feel His hands upon my head as He speaks healing and comfort and peace.

But that very Man has promised us something that He said was even better. Jesus said to His closest followers, “I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you” (John 16:7). Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit who dwells within everyone who calls upon the saving name of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:16).

The very presence of the Living God encloses Himself in our fragile hearts. Yes, the Lord is near. No, He will never leave us nor forsake us.

What does it mean to seek Him, though? What does it mean to really live a life that is aware of His presence, that looks for Him, that longs for Him? What does it mean to come to Him and receive rest (Matthew 11:28-30)? What does it mean to draw near to God as He draws near to us (James 4:8)?

We do not come the seeking knowledge about God. We come seeking God Himself. If we’ve ever been tempted to settle for less, we aren’t anymore.

I am praying we will sense God’s invitation in these days to be still before Him, to ponder the deeper things of the heart and to lay them out before our God, to come face to face with a God we cannot see and let Him tend to us in the ways that He desires. To seek for healing and hope and courage. To stand in the presence of the One who has every right to condemn us and to realize He has done all the was necessary to welcome us there. To be brave enough to step boldly into the throne room of the Lord. To be humble enough to call Him, “Father.” To be familiar enough to call Him, “Friend.”

We will open the Scriptures together over these next weeks to peer into the lives of these ancient women. I invite you to chase them into the presence of God. We will watch the Man of Christ move among them that we might better recognize His Spirit as He moves among us.

May we seek the Spirit of Christ in the same way that these women sought the Man of Christ. May we know what it is to run or fall or laugh or weep in the presence of the One who invites us in. May we encounter Him in ways that we have not before. And may our every encounter cause us to love Him more. May we come face to face with an invisible God who once robed Himself in human flesh, and may we find Him to be our Savior and our Lord and our most Faithful Friend.

Reflect:

1. Read Psalm 23:5 and Psalm 34:8. What has Jesus prepared for you? What has He invited you to do as you take refuge in Him?

1. Read Colossians 1:15-23. What do you learn about the Man of Christ?

2. Read Romans 8:9-17. What is the Spirit called in that passage? What do you learn about Him

Respond:

None of our “Response” activities are intended to “earn” anything from the Lord. He is perfectly faithful. He is perfectly present. The response activities are simply intended to position us in such a way that we more readily recognize His presence, His goodness and His faithfulness in our own lives.

1. I’m going to ask you to do something that may seem silly or insignificant but that has been a helpful, tangible reminder to me of God’s Presence in my home. Set a place for Jesus at your table, or your counter, or wherever you eat your meals. I know He’s everywhere and that He doesn’t need the place setting, but we are finite beings who benefit from reminders. Whenever you see His place there, let it remind you of His Presence as you remember the place that He has set for you.

2. Find yourself some paper, a journal, whatever you have. Fold it in half and at the top of one half write “Seeking,” and on top of the other half: “Seeing.” We are going to keep a list, over these next days and weeks, of ways we are asking the Lord to show Himself and also of ways He does reveal Himself to us. (See image below.)

3. The Spirit of Christ within His followers teaches us to walk in His ways, to hear His voice. The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirits that we are children of God. The Spirit, dwelling within us, supplies us with the power we need to love God and to do what He has placed in front of us. What is in front of you? Where do you need God’s Spirit to empower you? What are you asking Him to do? Take some time to lay your needs before Him. (You could make a note of these on your “Seeking” column.)

He can hold the whole world in His hands, and He can also still take your hand in His and lead you on. Who is this God who came to us that we might come to Him?

Week 1 Video:

*If you’re viewing this in your email, you have to click here to view the video. Or you can go to iTunes to listen to the audio. (The podcast option may not be available immediately.)

A few details about these devotionals:

1. I highly encourage you to reach out to 2-3 others and to discuss some of the reflection/discussion questions together. Pray together. Encourage each other. Know what is going on—not just in the lives of one another but in the hearts of one another.

2. TOTALLY OPTIONAL, but if you’re interested, I have created a Facebook Group where I’ll be posting these devotionals as well as trying to implement a forum where you can share what the Lord is doing in your life as well. You can join that group here: Join Facebook Group.

3. I will generally send them out Tuesday morning. This week I was a little late because I’m still trying to figure out how it all works! 🙂

4. If you’re not already receiving them in your email and would like to, you can sign up for that here: Seeking the Savior Sign Up. (The way the form works, you do have to “confirm your humanity” when you sign up—so make sure you do both steps to finish signing up.)