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BE STILL BEFORE GOD
A. Introduction: We’ve been talking about becoming aware of the fact that God is with us because He is
Omnipresent or present everywhere at once. There’s no place God is not. Wherever you go, there He
is. Jer 23:23-24; Ps 139:7-12; etc.
1. When we talk about becoming aware of God’s presence, we don’t mean seeking some sort of
spectacular supernatural manifestation. We mean becoming so convinced of the fact that He is right
there with you (because He there), it affects how you live.
a. If you learn to live with the awareness that God is right there with you all the time, it will give
you a sense of peace and hope, no matter what challenges life brings your way.
b. You’ll live with the certainty that nothing can come against you that is bigger than God who is
perfectly present with you, loving and reigning, and upholding all things by His power.
2. Peace of mind and hope begin with knowing who God is. He is the Creator of all things (Gen 1:1).
“He existed before everything began, and he holds all creation together” (Col 1:17, NLT). He is
“upholding and maintaining and guiding, and propelling the universe by His mighty word of power”
(Heb 1:3, Amp),
a. Almighty God is Eternal—He has no beginning and no end. God is Infinite—without limits.
He is Transcendent—above and beyond the universe and material existence.
1. Eph 1:23—Christ (God)…fills everything everywhere with his presence (NLT); (He)
everywhere fills the universe with Himself (Weymouth).
2. God is not only Transcendent, He is also Imminent or close at hand. And, because Almighty
God is Omnipresent and Infinite, He is fully present with each one of us (with you and me)
as though we are the only people on earth.
b. Almighty God is Omnipotent (All-Power) and Omniscient (All-Knowing). Nothing can come
against you that takes Him by surprise or that is bigger than Him. Rev 19:6; Isa 46:9-10
c. The Lord God is love, perfect love. He wills the highest good of the creatures He created. And
He is able to cause everything that happens in this broken, sin damaged world to serve His
ultimate purposes of good. I John 4:8; I John 4:16; Eph 1:9-11; Rom 8:28; etc.
3. God is also Invisible or beyond the perception of our physical senses (I Tim 1:17; Col l:15). Even
though He is with us, we can’t see or feel Him. But we can interact with Him by faith. Faith
perceives as real fact what is not yet revealed to the senses (Heb 11:1, Amp).
a. We can relate to and interact with God by faith, by talking to Him as though He is there, because
He is there. When we acknowledge His presence—talk about and purposefully think about the
fact that He is with us—it increases our awareness of His presence, and we experience Him.
b. I Pet 1:8—You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him,
you trust him; and even now you are happy with a glorious, inexpressible joy (NLT). Ps 16:11—
In your presence (Lord) is fullness of joy, at your right hand are pleasures for evermore (ESV).
B. To appreciate the full impact of what it means that God is with you, you need to understand that God is
relational. God created human beings for relationship. He created us to be His sons and daughters,
who live in loving relationship with Him.
1. God made humankind in His image and likeness, as much like Himself as creatures can be like their
Creator, so that relationship is possible. Gen 1:27
a. We need relationship with God because it’s the only place of true happiness and satisfaction for
a human being. Eccl 3:11—(God) has planted eternity in men’s hearts [a divinely implanted
sense of purpose which nothing under the sun, but only God can satisfy] (Amp).
b. God wants relationship with us. Eph 1:4-5—Before the foundation of the world he chose us to
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be, in Christ, his children…He planned, in his love, that we should be adopted as his own
children through Jesus Christ (J. B. Phillips). And this gave him great pleasure (NLT).
2. We were created to know God—not just know about Him, but to know Him relationally. True life,
eternal life, is a conscious awareness of God, a conscious knowledge of Him.
a. Our relationship with God is meant to be based on more than a propositional truth: I believe
that God is real because someone told me about Him. That’s good, but it’s meant to be an
experiential relationship: I know He is real because I know Him. John 4:41-42
b. Jesus said: John 17:3—This is eternal life: [it means] to know (perceive, recognize, become
acquainted with and understand You, the Only true and real God [and likewise] to know Him,
Jesus [as the] Christ, the Anointed One, the Messiah (Amp).
1. Jesus made this statement in a prayer He prayed to God the Father the night before He was
crucified, at the end of His Last Supper with His twelve apostles.
A. Note another line from this prayer: John 17:20-21—I am not praying just for these
followers. I am also praying for everyone else who will have faith because of what my
followers will say about me. I want all of them to be one with each other, just as I am
one with you and you are one with me. I also want them to be one with us (CEV); Just
as you, Father, live in me and I live in you, I am asking that they may live in us (J. B.
Phillips); that they may be in us (Barclay).
B. There’s a lot in what Jesus spoke and prayed that night (lessons for another time). But
note that Jesus was praying about the relationship between God and His people.
2. Jesus went on to pray: Then the world will know that you sent me and will understand that
you love them as much as you love me (John 17:23, NLT). We have been invited into a
loving relationship with Almighty God.
c. We made this point last week. God is Triune. He is one God who simultaneously manifests as
three distinct, but not separate Persons—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
1. They are distinct Persons in the sense that each is aware of the others, speaks to the others,
honors and loves the others. They have existed forever in loving relation with each other.
2. John the apostle (who was present at that Last Supper) wrote: In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1, NKJV). The Greek
word translated with (pros) refers to a close, personal relationship between these Persons.
3. These three have interacted with each other in a mutual, loving relationship since forever.
And we have been invited into this relationship, invited into fellowship with God. I Cor 1:9
3. John would later write to Christians: We are telling you about what we ourselves have actually seen
and heard (Jesus, God Incarnate), so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is
with God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ (I John 1:3, NLT).
a. Fellowship is relational. It involves interaction, enjoyable talk, knowing and relating to one
another. John said that this is what we (the apostles) have with the Father and the Son, and we
are telling you (readers) this so that you can join in the fellowship we have with them.
b. Note what John wrote next: And we are now writing these things to you so that our joy [in
seeing you included] may be full—and your joy may be complete (I John 1:4, Amp). That’s
what Jesus prayed for in His prayer in John 17—that through the preaching of His apostles,
others would join this loving relationship.
1. Jesus’ apostles saw Him with their eyes for three plus years. Then He left them and returned
to Heaven. Once He left them, and they could no longer see or feel Him, they would have
had to know how to live with an awareness that He was with them and relate to Him by faith.
2. Some of Jesus’ last words to these men were: Behold, I am with you always, even to the
end of the age (Matt 28:20, NKJV). The Greek word that is translated behold is a form of a
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word that means to know, to be aware. Jesus said: Be aware that I am with you.
A. This is more than trying to remember things about Jesus because He’s not here anymore,
like you might do with a loved one who has died or a friend who has moved away.
B. It’s a conscious interaction with Him because you believe that He is right there with you.
It’s supernatural because He is truly there and because He (God) engages with you.
4. These first followers were Jewish people who knew from the Old Testament the importance of
learning to focus their attention on God with them—even though they could no longer see Him.
a. In these lessons, we’ve talked much about David (Israel’s great king). David developed a
consciousness that God was with Him. It came through purposefully focusing his attention on
God by making himself get quiet, sit before God, think about Him, and talk to and about Him.
1. David knew that God is Omnipresent (Ps 139:7-12). David wrote: You (God) have said,
“Seek my face”. My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, I do seek” (Ps 27:8, ESV). The
word face can mean a literal face. But it was also used for the person—his presence.
That’s the meaning here. To seek God’s face means to seek direct fellowship with Him.
2. David said his great desire was to dwell in God’s presence and behold the beauty or splendor
of the Lord (Ps 27:4). Behold means to mentally perceive, contemplate with pleasure.
A. David knew that he could seek and behold God where ever he was, because God is
everywhere at once.
B. David wrote about lying awake at night in the wilderness of Judea (with men pursuing
him to kill him) thinking about the Lord, meditating on Him and His help. Ps 63:6-7
b. David wrote that he set the Lord before Him continually. Ps 16:8—I have kept the Lord in my
mind continually (Harrison); I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me (NLT). Wherever he
was, David took time to consciously think about the Lord and the fact that God was with Him.
5. The problem is, turning your attention to God doesn’t happen automatically—for several reasons.
We can’t see or feel God. What we see or feel in the moment has the greater reality for us. Our
lives are busy and our minds are filled with constant, rapid-fire thoughts about everything but God.
a. Awareness or consciousness of God’s presence with you must be developed. You have to pay
attention to the fact that God is present. We talked several weeks ago about Matha and Mary.
b. Martha, Mary, and their brother Lazarus were friends of Jesus. He visited their home and did a
teaching. Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to Him teach, while Martha was busy preparing a
big meal for everyone. Luke 10:38-42
1. Martha knew that Jesus was in the house, right there with them. But that didn’t keep her
from being worried and upset over her tasks, because she wasn’t focused on Him as she
worked. Other things stuff filled her mind and occupied her attention.
2. But Mary did what was necessary to focus on Jesus, to be aware of Jesus in the moment.
She sat down, got still, listened, and paid attention to Him.
c. Note Jesus’ words: Martha, dear friend, you are so upset over all these details! There is really
only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it (Luke 10:41-42, TLB).
C. How do you do this in real life? Two things: You need to take time to practice focusing on God when
you aren’t under pressure, and you also need a way to get control in the moment when the pressure is on.
1. David and other psalmists wrote about being still or quiet in the presence of the Lord. Ps 46:10—Be
still and know that I am God (KJV); Ps 62:1—I wait quietly before God, for my salvation comes
from him (NLT); For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation (ESV).
a. We need to take time each day (five or so minutes), get quiet before God (be still), and focus on
Him intentionally, by making yourself think about and softly say what is so. Acknowledge His
presence by faith: God you are with me and for. You are good and you are big.
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b. I’m not talking about making bold declarations and decrees (an idea that is popular today in
some Christian circles). I’m talking about quietly pondering and mulling over who God is.
c. Then just sit in silence, in His presence, for a couple of minutes. He promises us that we will
know that He is God, not just facts about Him, but with an awareness of Him. Stillness puts you
in a position to know Him more fully, to become aware of who has been there all along.
1. Paul wrote that those who come to God must believe that He is. This means, not only that
He exists, but that He is who He says He is—He is perfectly present with us, loving and
reigning, and upholding all things by the Word of His power. Jer 31:3; Ps 97:1; etc.
2. God calls Himself I AM (Ex 3:14), the Self-Existent One. He is what He is, and He is with
you. So, just be with Him. Take time to purposefully be with Almighty God who is.
2. How do we get control in the moment? You don’t fight the worry, the anxious thoughts, the racing
mind. You behold the Lord by changing your focus.
a. Paul wrote to Hebrew Christians who were experiencing persecution for their faith. In the letter
he urged them to keep their focus on Jesus: Heb 12:1-2—Let us run with endurance the race that is
set before us (NKJV), looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus (Amp)
1. Paul reminded them that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Heb 11:6). To
seek God has shades of meaning, one of which is to seek His presence, to become conscious
of the fact that He is with you through.
2. If you seek Him, you will find Him. He will reward you with Himself, with an awareness
of His presence, as well as help in your troubles. You will experience peace and hope.
b, Paul was a Jew, writing to Jews. The Hebrew word for search means to search out by any
method, but specifically in prayer or worship. There is a connection between seeking God and
praise and worship.
1. When you worship and praise God, you’re thanking and praising Someone you can’t see or
feel (an expression of faith), and it increases your confidence in and awareness of Him.
2. Ps 89:15—Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light
of your presence (NLT).
A. Ps 100:3-4—Know that the Lord is God! It is he who has made us, and we are his; we
are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his
courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name (ESV).
B. You can’t enter God’s presence because you’re already in it. But you can become more
conscious of His presence through faith. We recognize and acknowledge that He’s
there, even if we don’t see or feel Him. We believe He is there, because He is there.
3. Praise is first and foremost acknowledging God. It’s not musical. It’s proclaiming who God is and
what He has done. Ps 100 opens with this statement: Make a joyful noise to the Lord (Ps 100:1).
The original Hebrew word means a joyful shout—speaking words instead of singing them.
a. We need to develop a habit of praising and thanking God as we go about our daily activities.
By doing so, we’re entering into or developing greater awareness of His presence with us.
b. And, all of us need what I call an SOS phrase, a Sight On Savior phrase that we can use to put
our attention back on the Lord when the pressure comes, the thoughts fly, and emotions rage—
you are with me; you are for me; this isn’t bigger than you; praise you Lord; etc.
c. David wrote in Ps 8:2—Out of the mouth of babes and infant, you have established strength
because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger (ESV). Jesus defined this strength as
praise to God (Matt 21:16). Praise will still the enemy—the wild thoughts in your head.
D. Conclusion: Consider one thought as we close. The Sovereign Lord…says…in quietness and
confidence is your strength (Isa 30:15, NLT). Take time to sit before Him. More next week!
