The Presence

I want to look at the word “presence” in the Bible – God’s presence, that is.  After all, in his presence is fullness of joy, and we don’t always live full of joy.  Why not?

Genesis says, of Adam and Eve,

They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

These two had walked in His presence but now knew they had disobeyed his directive, and they were hiding. They could hear the Lord walking and they most likely longed to be near Him, but their shame was too great.  They knew they had listened to a lie about God and listened to God’s very enemy – the serpent.

We can wonder why, if God’s presence was so real and tangible and great, why in the world did Adam and Eve walk away? 

Their act of disobedience came after listening to an untruth, a falsehood, a lie.

Even the best of marriages can be destroyed when one hears that the other has cheated, stolen, or abused – even if it’s not true – if that person chooses to believe the lie.

In order to believe the truth, we must know who He is.  And that comes from reading his word to read, learn, and believe in the goodness of our Father.

Then we when hear anything other than that, we know to turn away…back to His presence…in the cool of the day.