{"id":3461,"date":"2012-03-11T03:09:00","date_gmt":"2012-03-11T08:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markdroberts\/?p=3461"},"modified":"2015-03-13T15:33:39","modified_gmt":"2015-03-13T20:33:39","slug":"living-in-gods-presence-inspiration-from-the-high-calling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markdroberts\/2012\/03\/11\/living-in-gods-presence-inspiration-from-the-high-calling\/","title":{"rendered":"Living in God’s Presence: Inspiration from the High Calling"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Living in God\u2019s Presence<\/h3>\n
\n
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Psalm 116:1-19<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

He has saved me from death,
\nmy eyes from tears,
\nmy feet from stumbling.
\nAnd so I walk in the LORD\u2019s presence
\nas I live here on earth!<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Psalm 116:8-9<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
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Recently, I\u2019ve been thinking about what it means to live all of the time in God\u2019s presence. I\u2019m not focusing on the fact that God is always present in my life. This is a given, a wondrous implication of God\u2019s grace. He is always with me.<\/p>\n

But am I always with him? To be sure, since God is with me, then I am with him. But I am wondering not so much about this reality as I am about my awareness of it. Am I living each moment with a sense of God\u2019s presence in my life?<\/p>\n

The author of Psalm 116 is doing this very thing. He says: \u201cI walk in the LORD\u2019s presence as I live here on earth!\u201d (116:9). Notice that he isn\u2019t living \u201cbefore God\u2019s face,\u201d as the Hebrew might be literally rendered, only when doing obviously religious things, like praying, attending weekly services, and reading the Scriptures. Rather, the sense of this verse is that the psalmist is living with a sense of God\u2019s presence throughout his life on earth.<\/p>\n

Notice, too, that the psalm writer is not doing this in order to earn God\u2019s favor. Rather, he is doing so in response to what God has done for him already: \u201cHe has saved me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. And so I walk in the LORD\u2019s presence as I live here on earth!\u201d (116:8-9). Living before God each day is a response to his gracious salvation.<\/p>\n

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION:<\/strong> What helps you to be aware of God\u2019s presence in your life? Are you ever aware of God\u2019s presence as you\u2019re doing your work? What difference does this make?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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PRAYER: <\/strong>O Lord, how I thank you for the reminder of Psalm 116. I want to walk in your presence each moment of each day. I yearn to learn how to be aware of you, not just when I\u2019m focusing fully on you, but also when I\u2019m doing all the other things in my life.<\/p>\n

Help me, Lord, to live in your presence when I\u2019m sorting through my email. Help me to live in your presence when I lead a meeting. Help me to be aware of you when I\u2019m talking with a friend. Help me to attend to you when I\u2019m having dinner with my family\u2026and in all the other actions of daily life. Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

_________________________________________________<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Would you like to receive a Daily Reflection like this one in your email inbox each morning?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how . . . .<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This devotional comes from The High Calling: Everyday Conversations about Work, Life, and God <\/em>(www.thehighcalling.org<\/a>). You can read my Daily Reflections there, or sign up to have them sent to your email inbox each day. This website contains lots of encouragement for people who are trying to live out their faith in the workplace. The High Calling<\/em> is associated with Laity Lodge, where I work.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Living in God\u2019s Presence Psalm 116:1-19 He has saved me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. And so I walk in the LORD\u2019s presence as I live here on earth! Psalm 116:8-9 Recently, I\u2019ve been thinking about what it means to live all of the time in God\u2019s presence. I\u2019m not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7933],"tags":[16605,16826,16825,21650],"class_list":["post-3461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-inspiration-high-calling","tag-inspiration","tag-living-in-gods-presence","tag-psalm-116","tag-the-high-calling"],"yoast_head":"\nLiving in God's Presence: Inspiration from the High Calling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Living in God\u2019s Presence Psalm 116:1-19 He has saved me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. 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