Living in the Manifest Presence of God

/ Sandy Walker / Leave a comment

Abraham said, “The Lord, in Whose presence I walk …” [Genesis 24:40]

“There’s a difference between living in the Omnipresence of God and living in the Manifest Presence of God.” – Alyn Jones, Grace Center, Franklin, TN

We all live in the Omnipresence of God – God is everywhere. We can acknowledge that and live in that knowledge.

But there is a place of living in the Manifest Presence of God – where you KNOW HE IS THERE, right there where you are. You are tangibly aware of His presence. It’s amazing – it’s life-giving, it’s comforting, it’s fullness of joy.

You can know this place – you can walk with God like this. It’s not impossible. Truly.

Walk with Him and obey Him. What is He telling YOU to do? Do that. Just that and nothing else. Don’t try to EARN your way into His Manifest Presence. Just obey with all your heart the last thing He told you to do. Be faithful.

Cultivate an awareness of His Presence. I’ve spent my life chasing after Him and I am happy to report that I now live in His Manifest Presence. Every day. Every morning I wake up aware of His Presence. If I wake up feeling foggy, then I speak to Him until my mind clears and I am again aware of His presence. I don’t leave my bed until I do.

Just do it – you won’t regret it. Make yourself aware of His Presence. Talk to Him as though He is really RIGHT THERE with you. Because He is. You just don’t realize it. 🙂

“Our believing produces our receiving.” – Alyn Jones

Can you imagine what it would look like to live in God’s Manifest Presence 24/7? Imagine the peace of knowing all your steps are ordered – never feeling rushed or worried. Being sure that all that you need will be provided when you need it – just like the sparrows.

Can you believe and can you trust enough to actually receive this in your heart?

That is the question.

Here’s a hymn to inspire you to walk with Him and talk with Him. Enjoy! 🙂

FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real

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Q37 Look for Proof

FEAR: False Evidence Appearing Real – Look for Proof!

Most of us think our thoughts are accurate. We trust our own thinking so much that we do not think to question our own thoughts.

That’s why I love this statement – FEAR stands for False Evidence Appearing Real. Often when we are afraid, it is not based on reality. It is based on assumptions and on inaccurate information.

When my clients express a fear, I ask them for proof. They pause, stammer a minute and then realize that they don’t have any. We are so used to just believing everything that comes to our minds that we lose the ability to examine what is at the root of our fears. I don’t want them to look silly (being unable to prove that their fear is based on reality), but at the same time, I want to teach them to question their assumptions.

For instance, a lady came to me once and said she wanted to become a confident communicator. She was afraid to start conversations at parties because she didn’t feel confident. We worked on some communication skills to help build her confidence. She improved and was ready to try out her new skills. However, she still felt afraid of “looking dumb”.

So, I asked her to prove it to me. “Are you dumb?” I asked. She gave me a shocked expression and said, “No, of course not!” Then I asked her if she had ever had trouble in school due to learning difficulties or speech impediments that made her “feel dumb” among other children. She said no.

“So how would you “look dumb” in conversation?” I asked her. I wanted her to figure out exactly what her fear was. What she realized was that “looking dumb” was a judgment. She was afraid that either someone else would judge what she had to say as “dumb” or she would think what she said was “dumb”. So we worked on these specific things. First, you cannot control other people’s judgment of you. She had to let that go. For her, the primary issue was judging herself as “dumb”. We did some work on that – to learn self-acceptance and self-compassion. And her fear melted away.

The next time she went to a social gathering, she emailed me to tell me how smoothly it went. She successfully started several conversation with strangers and acquaintances and never once did she “look dumb” in her estimation. Success!

Take some time to examine your fears. Can you find proof that what you imagine will happen actually has a good chance of happening? And if it does, then what? When we break down our fears, often we discover that they are based on a fuzzy sense of logic. By breaking them down, we can overcome them.

Try it and let me know how it works for you! ♥

Need more help overcoming fear and anxiety? Try my online course – here’s the link: Overcoming Anxiety and Fear: A Simple Method to More Peace

Woman smiling with peace in the midst of the storm
You can have peace in the midst of the storm

Be Authentic – It’s Powerful!

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Q54 Authentic is Priceless

This came to me the other night.

Just by being authentic … by being “REAL” and not fake or pretending to be something you aren’t makes a HUGE impact on those around you.

People sense authenticity. You can tell when someone is “real”, can’t you?

Somehow when you are with someone who is authentic – it frees you up. It gives you permission to just be YOU.

Since they aren’t pretending, that means they have accepted themselves. They are not trying to put on a show to get you to like them. They like who they are.

And somehow that self-acceptance translates to being free to be yourself with them.

And THAT is priceless.

The world is full of people trying to impress others – trying to fit in, to be accepted.

Rare are the ones who have stopped playing the game and have decided to simply accept themselves. With those folks, it does not matter whether you look right, talk right or even act right. You are allowed to just “be” – no performing.

What a priceless gift that is.

Thank you, Friend, for showing me that.

Look for Him – He’s right there ♥

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“He meant us to see Him and live with Him and draw our life from His smile.” – A. W Tozer, The Pursuit of God, Chapter 3

I read this back in 1990 and was blown away. My heart “knew” this statement was true, but I didn’t know anyone who knew God like this. Not a soul. At the time, I was surrounded by the most on-fire Christians I could find. I had just spent two years in Bible College with a bunch of radical students who wanted nothing more than to give their lives for Jesus, going anywhere He wanted them to go. Then I joined a youth organization known for its mission work around the globe. I had just arrived at a new base that was birthed out of one man’s passion to see revival brought to America.

Yet this simple statement seemed incredulous to me. If this was true, if this man experienced God that way, then why didn’t I know anyone else who had? If this was possible, why oh why, didn’t everyone walk with God like this?!

I became determined that THIS would be my life. That I would “find” God like this as though my life depended on it. Because in my heart, I knew it did.

“To have found God and still to pursue Him is the soul’s paradox of love, scorned indeed by the too-easily-satisfied religionist, but justified in happy experience by the children of the burning heart.” – A. W Tozer, The Pursuit of God, Chapter 1

The “children of the burning heart” – that describes me perfectly.

burning heart

You can read A.W. Tozer’s book online – it’s free  🙂

Read it – your heart will thank you! ♥

Pride Makes You Dumb

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Q50 Pride makes you dumb

Did you know that when you are full of yourself (we call that egotism, pride or arrogance), it actually short circuits your ability to see things clearly? When we become so self-focused, we lose touch with reality.

The problem is … everyone else can see this clearly … but not us. Pride blinds you to reality. You make decisions that are self-centered and selfish quite easily when you are full of yourself, when you are only thinking of what will benefit you. Later, you realize how stupid you were. You realize how hurtful your actions were – your pride blinded you to how your choices would hurt someone you care about. But at the time, it made sense. Has that ever happened to you?

Pride also keeps you from getting input from others. When you think you know everything there is to know, you don’t ask for advice. And other people won’t offer their suggestions or ideas – they can tell you are not interested. That’s a bad place to be – we need other people’s help and guidance. They have something to offer us, but pride shuts the door on them. Without key information, we often make bad decisions.

There’s wisdom in humility. When you are humble, thinking of others and their needs as just as important as you and your needs, you actually think better. You make wiser decisions, decisions that are more loving because you are not so self-focused. You are open to receiving advice and as a result, you become a wiser person. People can tell when you are humble and they will support you in making good decisions. That’s a good place to be.

Think about this today. Choose humility. Choose to think of others, not just of yourself. Ask the Holy Spirit to cultivate humility in you – one way to do this is to ask for an increase of the Fear of the Lord. The more you are aware of the greatness of God, the more you will see how little you are – that humbles you.

I remember hearing that the cloak of humility signifies the highest rank in the kingdom. Those who wear it receive the most honor.

I would much rather deal with a humble person than a proud person, wouldn’t you?

Cultivating Closeness

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I have been feeling drawn … closer. Closer to God, closer to an awareness of His nearness. I feel a greater need to “pay attention” to God’s Spirit, follow more closely, don’t get distracted.

It is SO easy to get distracted in this digital world – so much vies for our attention. There’s so much “mental noise” trying to drown out the still, small voice of the Lord.

However, I sense that there is coming a time when those who can follow closely will be dearly needed – and they will be few and far between. I remember hearing stories of the USSR when it was under communist rule. The Christians had to follow the Holy Spirit very closely. They were not allowed to meet in a church or in a public place to worship. They became the underground church. They would meet secretly in people’s homes to worship and pray together. They did not send out invitations – that would have been dangerous. Instead they listened to the Holy Spirit. I remember hearing the stories how people would individually feel drawn to a specific person’s house. When they arrived, they would find others who had been drawn. Throughout the evening, people would arrive one by one. No one had “called” a meeting – the Holy Spirit led them. This way the secret police could never discover their plans … because they HAD NO PLANS. It was too dangerous to plan a gathering. Once they arrived, they worshipped, prayed and enjoyed God’s presence together.

I hope things don’t get as bad as they once were in the USSR. But there may be other situations where being sensitive to His leading will be life saving. I want to be ready. Now is the time to be “practicing” so that when the time comes when you are dearly needed, you will be ready.

Press in!

Photo Source: Stockbyte

Photo Source: Stockbyte

 

You deserve a break!

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You deserve a break!

When I woke up this morning, I heard, “You don’t have to think today.” Immediately, I felt relief. [Whew!]

I realized that we spend so much energy processing information that it makes us weary – mentally and emotionally. We “overthink” most things.

We plan our day based on what we need to accomplish. We rehearse the details to make sure we aren’t forgetting anything. We go over conversations in our minds – both future and past conversations – trying to figure out what needs to be said or whether what we said is what we meant.

We definitely “lean on our own understanding” a lot more than we realize. We are thinkers. We feel a sense of responsibility to know what’s going on in the world. We devour massive amounts of information each day – the news, social media, text messages, phone calls, meetings, etc.

Our souls are weary. We need a break!

“Come unto Me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest” – Jesus offers us rest (Matthew 11:28).

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5,6)

God will take care of you, if you let Him. Let go of control through “thinking”.

Stillness is a gift and it is a choice. Stillness in your mind and emotions. We may not have much control over the external “noise” in our environment, but we CAN choose to quiet our minds.

How do I take a break?

Choose to not lean (rely on, support yourself) on your own thinking. Lean on God’s thinking – His ability to anticipate what you need and provide it right on time.

When you trust God to do the thinking for you (and anticipate what you’ll need), you are demonstrating childlikeness – a requirement for entering the kingdom of God, the place of peace and joy (Matthew 18:3, Romans 14:17).

Childlike Joy

One translation of “trust” is “careless” (without cares) and another is “bold”. So be “careless in the Lord” – that’s what society would say you are doing when you trust God to think for you. They would think that was being careless, irresponsible. So – be boldly careless. Can you trust God that much? Is He trustworthy to do your thinking for you and let you know if there’s something you need to do?

If you love God with all your heart, mind and soul then trusting Him is a natural next step.

You trust the one you love. However, if you don’t know someone well enough to love them, then you certainly can’t trust them, especially with “all your heart”.

Do we know God well enough to trust Him?

If not, why not?

Think about that. ♥

Welcome home ♥

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Welcome home ♥

. . . a place of refuge & refreshment for Christian leaders

Do you ever feel

  • alone and misunderstood?
  • frustrated by the lack of results?
  • held back from fulfilling your God-given dream or call?
  • discouraged and disillusioned?
  • ready to give up yet unable to deny the burning flame within?

Are you having trouble figuring out WHY things aren’t working out the way you thought they should? If so, you’ve come to the right place! Welcome home!

You are welcome in this place.

You will be encouraged and validated here. No criticism or judgment – no matter how discouraged you feel, no matter how far you feel you’ve gone.

Here you will be understood.

You will be listened to and acknowledged.

Here you will find CLARITY.

This site is dedicated to Christian leaders who need encouragement and support – a cup of cold water in a dry and weary land.

glass-of-water-in-desert

♥ WELCOME HOME ♥

 How does this happen?

Sandy Walker has been working with people for over 25 years. She has a unique gift of being able to support leaders who are in the process of walking out their destiny. She’s a gentle listener who can provide insight (by request) on what may be holding you back or blocking your success.

If you are looking for clarity on the next step, she can help you listen and hear what the Holy Spirit is saying. If you want support in taking action on your dream, she can help you plan the steps to take.

Always ready to invite the Holy Spirit to any conversation, she creates an atmosphere where Truth Encounters happen effortlessly & you are empowered to walk in a new level of freedom you have never experienced before! It’s exciting and it happens quickly!

How the process works