Psalm 84:1-2 NLT How lovely is Your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty. I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God.
You were created for the presence of God.
There is a desire – a yearning – in each of us to be with Him, to experience His holy pres-ence, His love, His peace, His joy, and to gaze upon His beauty. There is no place else that can satisfy this longing. Nothing else will do.
His presence has everything you need. If you need answers or direction for your life, or if you’re in need of more joy, then you must make time to be with Him: Psalm 16:11 (NKJ) You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Do you need to be refreshed, revived or rejuvenated? Then enter into His presence: Acts 3:19 (KJV) …times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.
Are you weary, tired and in need of rest? Exodus 33:14 (AMP) And the Lord said, My Presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.
Are you feeling weak? In His presence is strength: 1 Chronicles 16:27 (KJV) Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place.
Do you need a place to run and hide, or to just get away from the cares of this life and its strife? Psalm 31:20 (NKJ) You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.
The presence of the Lord is our refuge. It’s our secret place. It is where we partake of intimate union and communion with Him. In His presence we receive His mercy and unfailing love. We experience the warmth of His embrace.
It’s no wonder our hearts “faint with longing” for Him.
The Amplified version of Psalm 84:2 says, My soul yearns, yes, even pines and is homesick for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out and sing for joy to the living God.
Once you’ve experienced the beauty of His presence, you will yearn for more of Him!
But how does one enter into the presence of God?
Psalm 100:2,4 (KJV) says, Come before His presence with singing…Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.
And Psalm 95:2 (AMP) says, Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise!
In Psalm 22:3, we see that God inhabits the praises of His people.
The door to His presence is thanksgiving, praise and worship. If you will cultivate a lifestyle of praising and worshiping the Lord, then you will begin to sense His tangible presence more and more. He will inhabit your praises!
The Lord loves you! He desires you! He created you to be with Him — to live in His presence. So enter into His holy presence with thanksgiving. Sing songs of praise and worship to Him throughout the day.
Develop a lifestyle of love and adoration toward Him. Then you will find yourself dwelling in that secret place. You will experience the beauty of His presence like never before, and you will truly satisfy that deep longing and yearning in your heart for the living God!
(Photo: Thinkstock/The Knot)
i needed this today. [the presence of our lord is our refuge]. a great reminder for the days when you mess up and feel much like a failure. He is my refuge:))
Amen! His presence makes *everything* all right! He is faithful! Blessings, Alisha
So needed to be reminded of this today: The door to His presence is thanksgiving, praise and worship. How simple, but yet so hard to do when days are overwhelming & exhausting. I need to stop focusing on me & focus instead on Him. Thanks Alisha!
Yes, it takes faith to get our minds off of ourselves & our cares in order worship the Lord. But it’s amazing that when we begin to focus our attention on Him, He’s right there with us to help us with whatever we’re facing! He is so good! Blessings, Alisha
Alisha,
I often write about hiding myself in the shadow of His wing, or seeking the the secret places. How beautifully you wrote it…”then you will find yourself dwelling in that secret place.” Thank God that he provides us a place to shelter, to restore, to be renewed.
Peace and good to you.
I’d love to read some of your writings on this subject…one of my favorites! Blessings, Alisha
The presence of the Lord is such a comfort and a great encouragement! I love how in Psalm 139 it says that there is no where we can go to hide from Him. I am so thankful that He knows me and sees me…and loves me anyway! He is forever faithful and is so worthy of our praises!
Blessings to you, Alisha!
In Him, Joan
P.S. Thanks for linking up!
Beautifully said, Joan! Yes, He is forever faithful & so wonderful!! God bless you, Alisha
I just love how your posts are always steeped in Scripture! Thanks for this encouragement today!
We need to seek His presence like we seek to breathe in the air. Thanks for your tender heart challenging us, Alisha, to make Him our priority and focus today!
“We need to seek His presence like we seek to breathe in the air.” Oh, I love the way you put that Beth! So true!! Blessings, Alisha
Alisha…excellent encouragement for my heart today. I love my secret place where the Lord meets me. Glad I stopped by today. Thank you for sharing this at WJIM this week.
Amen, Naomi! He’s always so faithful to meet us in the secret place! Blessings!
I am featuring this post this week at WJIM. I pray others will be encouraged as they read it. Blessings to you.
Thank you so much, Naomi. Once again, I am so honored. What a blessing you are!
So true. Being in His presence changes everything!
Yes, it does! Blessings, Alisha
I love this!
Praise God! Blessings to you! Alisha
Alisha, this is so uplifting! It really resonates with me, and I’m so grateful that I found you (again) today. I’m subscribing this time:) I’m coming to you from the Leaving a Legacy Link up. Blessings to you!
Wonderful! I’m so glad you found me again. 🙂 God’s presence is so precious, isn’t it? He is so good! Blessings, Alisha
This is absolutely beautiful…and so true. It’s easy to forget how easily we can come into God’s presence–that, in fact, he is always in and with us. I love his grace, that he makes us aware of his presence as we give thanks and praise to him.
Thank you for this!
Amen! He is truly wonderful!
I needed this today! My uncle – with whom I am very close – is very ill. there are a lot of things I just don’t understand but after reading your post, I realized that God is trying to teach me something, I just need to be open to it. the only time I am at peace right now is when I am on my knees before Him.
I’m so sorry about your uncle, Theresa. I pray the Lord will comfort you & your family during this trying time. And, yes, His presence is always a place of peace & comfort.
In His presence is fullness of joy… That has always been one of my favorite verses. Thank you for sharing this in the Thrive @ Home link-up!
Beautiful post. Thank you for sharing these great thoughts and scriptures.
Blessings,
Charlotte
Thank you, Charlotte!