In the beginning before the fall, God walked with Adam and Eve. They were always in His presence. God was dwelling with them. Human beings were designed to be empowered by His presence. His beautiful presence was light, love, and life!
God’s presence is also powerful and majestic.
In the Old Testament, for example, the visible manifestation of His presence was the pillar of fire and of cloud that led the people of Israel in the wilderness after leaving Egypt (Exodus 13:21). When God met Moses on Mount Sinai, “all the people who were in the camp trembled” (Exodus 19:16). The LORD descended on the mountain in fire with thunder and lightening and a dense cloud with the sound of a very loud horn.
When King Solomon built and dedicated the temple, the glory of the Lord filled it, and the priests could not enter the house of the Lord because of His glory.
When King Nebuchadnezzar with rage threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the furnace of blazing fire, it was the presence of the Lord that accompanied and saved them unharmed.
In the New Testament, Jesus was the very presence of the LORD among us. “Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We saw his glory – the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth who came from the Father” (John 1:14).
Wherever Jesus went, life followed. People were healed, the dead were raised, demons of darkness screamed and fled before Him. This was the power of His presence. His presence was sweet and gentle at times, setting people free. It made even the weakest and most vulnerable people bold (Matthew 9:20-21; 15:21-28).
The presence of God in Jesus was also weighty. On the night in which soldiers and officers of the chief priests came to arrest Jesus, they were thrown to the ground when Jesus answered them and identified who he was by saying, “I am”.
The risen and glorified Jesus appeared to Paul in a light from heaven (Acts 9:3-7). Paul fell to the ground, and the men who were traveling with him stood speechless.
His sweet or powerful presence empowers us whenever God chooses to reveal Himself through or around us. It cannot be created or manipulated, but we can position ourselves. Jesus declares that He will reveal Himself to those who have and obey His commandments (John 14:21). Your daily fellowship with Jesus, faithfully obeying what He commands you, praising and giving thanks to God (1 Thessalonians 5:18), puts you in a place where Jesus will choose to reveal Himself.