Created for His Presence
Faith Eury Cho
4 min read ⭑
“All that I sought, all this world relentlessly pursues in all the wrong places, is found in the presence of God.”
—J. Ryan Lister, The Presence of God
“The Presence” or “the Presence of God” frequently comes up in Christian jargon and church-speak, but we often miss its meaning. When sung during worship, it can inadvertently sound as if he is an energy force that we must woo to accrue. When we misbehave or forget him for an elongated period, it can feel as though he is a commodity that we must rush to regain. Throughout Scripture, the Presence of God has so many names and forms. Is he a burning bush like the one that appeared to Moses? (Exodus 3:4, NIV) Is his Presence like the cloud that led Israel through the wilderness? (Exodus 14:19, NIV) Is he a gentle whisper like Elijah heard from a cave? (1 Kings 19:12, NIV) The matter of his omnipresence further complicates the search.
If God is everywhere, are we not always in his Presence? To seek him, then, sounds as redundant and unnecessary as seeking air. However, to Brother Lawrence, our dear Carmelite lay brother, the Presence of God was a friend to know intimately, and doing so was “the life and nourishment of the soul.”
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Indeed, God is everywhere, in the galaxies above and the waves below. As time and space exist, so does God. But this boundless Creator also desires to be present with his people. The Presence of God can be encountered and known by humankind. The God who is holy and infinite chooses to be relationally accessible to his creation. He is entitled to remain aloof from all that is beneath him, and he could do so because he is fully self-sufficient. However, from Genesis to Revelation, we see a God who is constantly speaking, helping, comforting, defending and providing. He is God, but he chose to be Emmanuel — God with us.
When we refer to the Presence of God, we aren’t speaking of an emotionally charged moment or “a vibe.” It isn’t a religious achievement reserved for monks, nor is it a feel-good saying that you sprinkle onto your church traditions. The Presence of God is God himself, including his character, emotions and thoughts. The Presence used to dwell with his people through the means of a covenant arrangement, with priests as intermediaries and amid the shadows of a tabernacle. Later, he became the God who dwelled among his people in a temple. Eventually, he came as a man named Jesus. And today those who say yes to Jesus also say yes to an everlasting friendship with the Holy Spirit, who remains with them through thick and thin.
When we choose to follow Jesus, we are offered the gift of experiencing the treasures of the gospel. Just as beavers are designed to build and birds are meant to fly, we are created to know our Creator — intimately, authentically and passionately. Communing with him breathes life into our bones. To know him is to know peace. He is the wisdom above all logic. He is the pleasure above all earthly satisfaction. He is the love that makes our lives make sense. Thanks to what Jesus has done, this gift is accessible to us who accept him as Lord and Savior.
“To experience him should be to know beauty. To hear from him should be your soul’s food. To obey him should be a sustaining joy.”
I have sat for hours with a dear friend who has always celebrated my God-victories and cheered me on in everything I do for the church. I love and respect her deeply. Yet when it comes to knowing Jesus for herself, she always kindly declines. She doesn’t like the thought of devoting her life to Christ, and she prefers to connect with her idea of the Divine through nature, rituals, meditation, etc. Seeking truth through her own means feels more freeing than submitting to the Truth. She looks for signs in order to feel close to God. Yet that desire to be linked to the Endless and Eternal doesn’t come from within but rather is given to us by our Creator. This is why the gospel is such good news. God desires to connect with us intentionally and personally. What Jesus accomplished on the cross provided a doorway for you to have direct access to him, to hear his words and know him for yourself. His Presence is his intentional dwelling with us. As humans, we were never meant to look to the universe for signs and to hope for its random mercies. That isn’t what we were created for. God doesn’t offer us shadows of the real thing. He offers us himself.
You were created to know God. This isn’t merely cerebral knowledge such as acquiring fancy theological concepts and biblical information. It also isn’t superficial knowledge like knowing a celebrity or a politician from afar. Rather, knowing the Presence of God is an intimate connection that isn’t of this world. It isn’t magical, but it is indeed mystical. To know God is to know what he means before you exchange a word. To know him is to see him with your heart. It isn’t the kind of knowing that is shared by colleagues or neighbors. To know Jesus is to experience a deep and consistent closeness. Nothing can fulfill you more. This is God’s intentional design for your being. To recognize this design and prioritize your life accordingly allows you to enjoy the fruit of faith no matter how desolate the wilderness you face.
Your very existence is meant to be fueled by a friendship with God. This friendship can give your spirit more energy than the freshest cup of coffee. It can be where you find the inspiration to create, the direction to make decisions, and the wisdom to build a life on this earth. To experience him should be to know beauty. To hear from him should be your soul’s food. To obey him should be a sustaining joy. He is infinite, so to know him is an endless unveiling of riches. A relationship with him can charge your every inhale and exhale. This is how we were created. This is how it was meant to be. This should be our only fuel, but that all too often isn’t the case.
Faith Eury Cho is an author and the CEO/founder of the Honor Summit, a nonprofit organization that equips and activates Asian American women for the mission of God. She has been a gospel preacher since she was 19 years old and regularly speaks at events around the country and is a frequent guest on TBN’s Better Together. She is co-founder and co-pastor of Mosaic Covenant Church in New Jersey, alongside her husband, Pastor David Cho. She also hosts the Faithful Together podcast with her husband. Her latest book is Deepening Your Friendship with God: A 52-Week Devotional Journey. For more information, visit: faitheurycho.com and @faitheurycho on social media.
Taken from “Experiencing Friendship with God” by Faith Eury Cho. Copyright © 2023. Used by permission of WaterBrook, an imprint of Penguin Random House Christian Publishing Group.
