Experiencing
His Presence
Eido
is the Greek word that means "to see" and comes from the root word
oida which means to know intimately. Remember Job, who said after
all his trials, "I [had] heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear
[beginning knowledge of God], but now mine eye seeth Thee [now I have
intimate, experiential knowledge of You]."
Remember, the
fire of God’s Love not only consumes us, it also enlightens us! When we
enter the presence of God, we will "see" (eido) all that
we have only known so far by "faith." The fire of God’s Love will allow
us to see and know Him as we never have before. Matthew 5:8 says it
perfectly, the "pure in heart [and spirit] shall see God." In other
words, the more our soul is stripped away from our spirit, the clearer
we will be able to see Him. Purity is a prerequisite for seeing Him.
Only when our soul and spirit are cleansed, can God’s light shine forth
and we’ll be able to see Him. "Follow peace with all men, and holiness,
without which no man shall see the Lord." (Hebrews 12:14)
The presence
of God is only seen through faith, not through our own abilities
or our own understanding. By faith, we will see Him in every
circumstance; by faith, we will be conscious of His closeness all the
time; by faith, we will be trying to please Him in all we do; and by
faith we will try to be moved only by His Spirit.
A Scriptural
Example: Moses
Just like
Moses, our goal should not simply be the security of our salvation, but
the ability to see God face to face. "He is always before my face, that
I shall not be moved." (Acts 2:25)
The Lord
talked face to face with Moses out of the fire. (Deuteronomy 5:4) Moses
was so touched and so changed by the encounter that his face shown. His
face shone on the outside because of what was happening to him on the
inside. And the same thing can occur with us. Maybe, not to the degree
that it happened with Moses, but we all have met those special people
whose countenance glows because they have been with Jesus. They have
been in the presence of God and it shows on the "outside."
In this
wonderful state of seeing and experiencing and knowing God’s presence,
we will begin to watch Him repay our painful times with His unfathomable
Love and affection. We will also begin to realize that in our dark
seasons, He never really left us at all. He had to do what He
did, in order to get us to this point of intimacy.
This alone
should render us incapable of doubting and give us the assurance that He
loves us unconditionally. "...And ye shall know that I have not done
without cause all that I have done...saith the Lord." (Ezekiel 14:23)
Further
Benefits of Intimacy
We have
previously covered many of the benefits of experiential intimacy with
God, but here are a few more:
