Experiencing the Father’s Love

I have been asked to talk a bit more about how to experience the love and presence of God. My reply is too big for a blog comment, so here it is as a post. This is an exerpt from my book, The Gospel of Freedom.

Romans 8:38-39

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

James 4:8a

Come near to God and he will come near to you.

In Romans, we are given an ironclad guarantee that there is nothing in all creation that will prevent us from experiencing the love (or presence) of God. We also have a wonderful promise in James that as we seek God, we will find Him. Imagine that! We are even promised that as we seek to come closer to God, He will actually come closer to us! That’s because God wants to be in our presence more than we want to be in His.

The difficulty in these verses is that they do not tell us how we are supposed to come near to God. However, what at first appears to be a challenge is actually a blessing of great freedom. Drawing near to God is an act of the heart, not a specific outward activity. Jesus alludes to this great truth in the following verses:

John 4:23-24

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.

Worshiping God in spirit is the inward cry of the heart expressing its love and longing for God. This inward cry may be expressed outwardly in many different ways. We have been given great freedom in deciding how we will choose to seek the presence of God.

Perhaps the simplest way to seek Him is to do it as you go about all of your daily activities. Even washing the dishes can be done as a cry of our hearts to experience the presence of God. This is because what matters is the state of our heart as we seek Him, not the particular activity.

Therefore, it is possible to seek after the presence of God by doing many of the Christian activities that we are used to doing – prayer, worship, Bible study, church attendance, etc. The difference is that these activities now have a new purpose – to encounter the living God and experience His presence. The exciting part is that we are promised that nothing will prevent it if our hearts are right.

Isaiah 57:15

For this is what the high and lofty One says-- he who lives forever, whose name is holy: "I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.

Isaiah 66:2b

This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.

Humility is the essential heart attitude to encounter the presence of God. In fact, God will oppose us if we are proud.

Although experiencing the presence of God is a heart endeavor, there are some practical steps we can take that may be beneficial to us.

1. Fast. When we fast, we can break down barriers that otherwise don’t seem to go away.

2. Spend time with others who experience God’s presence and ask them to pray for you.

3. Identify and renounce any false beliefs or theologies about the active working of God in your life.

4. Decide in your heart that knowing Jesus intimately is all that matters. Don’t allow your preconceptions to hinder you from seeking Him. Be willing to let Him offend you if He so chooses.

5. Read Scripture looking for God’s love in it, not guilt, shame and rebuke.

6. Decide to let God love you as you are if that’s what He wants to do.

7. Learn how to really worship Him and not just have a sing-along.

8. Make room in your life to seek the Lord. Build the time into your schedule, if needed.

9. Rest in the assurance that everything you do to seek the presence of God will succeed, not because of your efforts, but because of His love.

10. Learn to be a receiver from God and not a doer for God.

Over time, you will experience the presence of God more and more. You will also experience His love for you in greater measure. Whether you meet that love in dramatic encounters or experience it like a soft blanket resting on your shoulders, it will transform your life. Eventually, drawing near to God will mean nothing more than inclining your heart toward Him. No external efforts or formulas will be necessary any more.