“You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11

In God’s presence, there is fullness. Fullness of joy, peace, healing, life, provision, and prosperity. Miracles, victory, and freedom show up when God shows up. The impossible becomes possible. God’s presence is where we are filled, refreshed, and transformed. If we have God’s presence, we have everything. And still the best thing about God’s presence is the fact that He is there. The Hebrew word for presence is “paniym”-face. In God’s presence, we are standing face to face.

“The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.” Numbers 6: 24-26

The word “face” here is the same word paniym. So, you can read it this way: The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make His presence to shine upon and be gracious to you. We must realize the importance of how we treat God’s presence because it influences our lives and will determine the direction of our lives along with the favor and provision upon our lives. 

All throughout scripture we can see the favor and blessing of the Lord upon those who honored, respected, and desired God’s presence. They did not treat it as something ordinary but with reverence. They were not only blessed by God, but they were also highly favored among men. 

Deuteronomy 10:12 says to fear the Lord your God. But it is not a fear of terror or to be afraid of God. It means to have a respect for God, to honor His presence and commandments. To love God above all else and serve Him with all your heart. 

The story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10 is a perfect depiction of how we should honor the presence of God, and the way we allow ourselves to be distracted in God’s presence. Jesus was in the room with Mary and Martha. Mary was truly present with Jesus. She sat at His feet and listened to Him speak. But Martha was “overly occupied and too busy, was distracted.” How often does this happen to us? Where we take His presence for granted and we are absent while He is present. We allow our minds to wander, our flesh wants to watch tv or fall asleep or scroll social media. In these times you must pull your flesh under submission. Because God wants to speak to you. To give you a word meant for today. His presence is open for daily access. He wants to reveal Himself to you in new ways daily. 

Are the things you allow to distract you going to be worth what it’s costing you not being present in God’s presence? God is more interested in quality time than quantity time. He would rather have you fully present with Him for 15 minutes than an hour of you being distracted. Make it a priority to host His presence daily. Because when Sunday rolls around it’s a result of the environment of whom you’ve been hosting Monday through Saturday.