Dwelling in the presence of God just makes us more open to the God surprises in each day. It moves us from an analytical, theological and intellectual approach to a more experiential place where we can encounter God’s activity around us.
In Genesis 18, Abraham receives his guests in a traditional yet authentic way. He bows low to the ground not to worship them but to express his genuine receptivity to unexpected guests. His greeting says I receive you, I value you, and I respect you. We don’t really know if he recognized initially that they were indeed messengers from heaven.
I often wonder how many God encounters in my life I have all together missed due to my lack of dwelling in the presence of God. Too many times I operate out of and see things through a very intellectual, academic, black and white place. Yet we are invited to see things differently.
When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.” Clearly, there is a connection between our loving and receiving in this world and our loving and receiving God.
Centering ourselves in the presence of God awakens us to the God opportunities in our days and syncs our hearts with God’s heart.