Psalm 51:10-12
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me by your generous Spirit.
One of the things that King David cries out for in his prayer of repentance after sinning with Bathsheba is for God not to cast him away from his presence and not to take His Holy Spirit from him.
When we embrace sin and allow it to dwell in our lives then like Adam and Eve in the garden we suffer loss because the presence of God leaves us. Sin causes the lifting of Gods presence. The bible tells us in the book of 1 Thessalonians 5:19 not to quench the Spirit. To quench is to put out a fire and we do that when we allow and accommodate sin in our lives. We are told not to grieve or lie to the Holy Spirit.
One of the most amazing things that God has done for us who live in this dispensation of grace is that we have the Holy Spirit living on the inside of us. In essence, what Jesus promised his disciples is the reality that we are living in today. The Holy Spirit is our helper, our guide, our advocate, the one who reveals the deep things of God to us.
Gods presence comes with his favor and blessing, it is a full package. The sad reality is that we sometimes give up all that so that we can meddle in sin, like the prodigal son who walked away from his fathers presence guidance and counsel to try and do life on his own terms but it did not work out for him. Soon enough he had lost everything and he was living in filth and darkness. Thank God he came back to his senses and he ran back into the presence and cover of his father and he was fully restored.
May you and I treasure and value the presence of God in our lives and never trade it for anything!
Reflections
What does the presence of God mean to you?
Have you ever felt like the presence of God had left you? What had happened to get you there?
The Holy Spirit is with us always, how strong is your relationship with him?
