Living in His Presence

Today’s discussion questions At the Well are:

Do you find yourself taking part in godless living and sinful pleasures?

If so....What steps are you going to take to gain strength in wisdom, righteousness and devotion to God?

I read something this morning that truly encouraged and spoke to me. In Sarah Young’s book, Jesus Calling, she writes (as if Jesus is talking to us personally):

"If you make problem-solving secondary to the goal of living close to Me, you can find joy even in your most difficult days." (p. 292)

I think if we revise that just a little bit, we have the answer to our question. If our primary goal is always to live close to Jesus, godless living and sinful pleasures won’t be able to find any place in our lives. Whew! One less problem to solve just by keeping our most important life goal in view.

I wrote about this yesterday at my other blog: Home Is Where God Sends You. To summarize, I wrote that we avoid Satan’s traps by disciplining ourselves to be aware of God’s Presence always. Then I listed suggestions on how to do this. Click here if you’d like to read that post.

As part of this discipline, particularly regarding today’s discussion question, I think we should pray often as David did:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” –Psalm 139:33-34

Then we need to let the Holy Spirit do His job. According to Jesus:

"When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:" --John 16:8

Then we need to listen and obey and continue to walk ever closer to Jesus all the time. As we listen for His voice and seek His face, we won't be tempted to wander away.

Thank You, Lord, for Your Presence in our lives. Remind us constantly that You are here. Help us to walk closely to You, to study Your Word, to listen for Your voice, and to always obey. You created us for companionship. Help us to walk with You constantly as Your faithful friends. Amen.