Meditate
On
Acknowledge Jesus’ Presence by Giving Thanks
In
everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1
Thessalonians 5:18
There
are Christians who know in theory that Jesus is with them, but they do not
actively practice His presence. For me personally, one of the best ways to
practice the presence of the Lord is to thank Him all the time. You can give
thanks to Him for everything. Just say, “Lord, I thank You for this beautiful
sunset. I thank You for Your love and for surrounding me with good things and
good friends.”
There
is no limit to what you can thank Him for since every good and perfect gift
that we enjoy today comes directly from Him (James 1:17). Even if you have had
a rough day at work and you are facing a seemingly impossible challenge, you
can practice His presence. The moment you realize that your heart is heavy with
worry and your mind is plagued by anxiety, share your challenge with Jesus and
thank Him that this problem is not bigger than His hands. Begin to surrender it
to Him and depend on Him for His strength, power and peace.
As you
do that, you are already practicing the presence of the Lord. And as you honor
His presence and behave like He is indeed with you, He sees it as faith in Him
and intervenes on your behalf for your success in whatever situation you may be
in.
It is
sad when Christians behave like some husbands who bring their wives to a party,
only to ignore them completely. Their wives could be right there with them
physically, but these guys are so engaged with their own friends, talking about
the stock market, economy or latest game on television, that their wives might
as well not be with them.
Ladies,
do you know men like that? Now, men who are reading this book, I know you are
not like that, so don’t get offended, all right? I know you cherish and love
your wife. What I am trying to illustrate is that just because someone is with
you physically, it does not mean that the person feels appreciated by you.
Appreciation only occurs when you start acknowledging the presence of that
person.
Now,
what does the word “appreciate” mean? It means “to increase in value.” If you
appreciate someone, the person increases in value in your eyes. My friend, the
Lord is already with you, so start to practice His presence. Begin by thanking
Him, appreciating Him and increasing His value in your eyes, and you will see
Him acting on your behalf.
BLESSINGS
JOSEPH
PRINCE
