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Feeling God's Presence

EXPERIENCING GOD IN YOUR LIFE

Feeling God’s Presence

January 13, 2008

Text: Psalm 34:4-10

Ps 34:4-10

I sought the LORD, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. Look to him, and be radiant; so your faces shall never be ashamed.

This poor soul cried, and was heard by the LORD, and was saved from every trouble. The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. O taste and see that the LORD is good; happy are those who take refuge in him. O fear the LORD, you his holy ones, for those who fear him have no want. The young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. NRSV

In January we’re exploring ways to better experience God in your daily life. Last week we talked about seeing the “face” of God. Today we’ll get into “feeling” God’s presence. Next week it’s “hearing” God’s voice.

As a boy of around 11 or 12, I had the airplane ride of my life. My folks had arranged for me to fly from Poplar Bluff, to meet them in some town in Ohio.

I was in the seat next to the pilot in this small, single engine Cessna. I remember the excitement of strapping in; the engine starting up so loudly and the propeller whirling; the taxi-ing down the runway, gaining speed, and the sensation—the first time I’d ever experienced it—of leaving the ground.

It was all so exhilarating to be cruising at around 8,000 feet, looking down at things from a totally different perspective. You always remember your first plane ride.

But, there was something unnerving, too.

I leaned over and looked at the dials the pilot was monitoring, and noticed the fuel gauge. The needle looked to me to be perilously close to “E.” I didn’t say anything, but every so often I’d shoot a nervous glance. The needle was getting lower.

Then, it happened. The engine coughed, sputtered, and stopped. Dead silence. I remember my hands raising me on the armrests, as high as I could go while being strapped in.

The pilot said, “Oh, I thought I had more fuel than that.”

Then he calmly reached up and flipped a lever, to switch to the second fuel tank. The engine started right up, and we continued our journey.

I often think that the pilot did that on purpose, just to get a rise out of me. It worked.

When you set foot on an airplane—whether it’s a single engine Cessna or a 747—faith takes on a new dimension. You HAVE to have faith in that pilot, even if you feel that pilot is playing a practical joke.

James Brown, the pastor and not the singer, was learning to fly. One day, while in the air, his instructor told him to take the plane into a long, extended dive. He did, and the engine stalled. The plane was falling out of control. Panicked, he looked at the instructor, who did nothing to help. After a few seconds, James recalled what should be done, and corrected things. When he leveled off, he voiced his fear and frustration to the instructor.

His instructor patiently replied, “There is no position you can get this airplane into, that I cannot get you out of. If you want to learn to fly, go up there and do it again.”

The pastor reflected that “At that moment God seemed to be saying to me, ‘Remember this. As you serve Me, there is no situation you can get yourself into that I cannot get you out of. If you trust me, you will be all right.’

—James Brown, in Discoveries, Fall, 1991, Vol. 2, No. 4.

Do you want to feel God’s presence—feel, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that God is with you, as close as the breath is to your body, the beat to your heart?

There are times when you feel God apart from anything you do. When you’re in church. When you see a sunset. When you welcome the birth of a child, or bid farewell to the life of a loved one. Sacred events simply happen, and you find yourself on holy ground.

But sometimes you feel God’s presence by what you do.

You feel God passionately when you have put yourself into that cockpit. When you’re in a situation where you don’t know exactly all that’s going on, or could go happen, and you simply have to trust God in order to fly through the turbulence, and land safely. You feel God’s presence when you unconditionally trust that God can get you out of any situation you’ve gotten yourself into.

That is exactly what the psalmist is talking about—or should I say, “singing” about—in today’s psalm.

He sings about his “fears” and “troubles.” He doesn’t go into specifics. Might have been health issues, or money issues. It might have been a mistake he made that brought shame and humiliation.

If he was vague about his pain, though, he was specific about what he did with it:

I sought the LORD, and he answered me…This poor soul cried, and was heard by the LORD.

He goes on to say that as he called out to God, he looked and saw mighty forces coming to his aid. He said,

The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.

He then says something that sounds strange, but really does make sense:

O taste and see that the LORD is good; happy are those who take refuge in him!

“Taste,” then “see.”

Two senses, jumbled together.

It seems to me that the Psalmist is saying that in life, you’re going to have to taste some things that you don’t necessarily want to taste.

Something I personally don’t want to taste is a brussel sprout. Amen? Now, I know a brussel sprout is good for me, but it doesn’t exactly rank up there with a Krispy Kreme or a Snickers for taste satisfaction.

But life does serve you up a plateful of brussel sprouts from time to time. Something you push away like a spoiled child, saying, “Not good! Don’t like it! Want dessert!”

The Psalmist says, “Don’t expect to be spoiled in life. TASTE the brussel sprout. And if you trust God with all your heart, you will taste AND SEE that God is good. You will TASTE AND SEE that there is no situation you can get into, that God can’t get you out of.

So…

What’s your brussel sprout?

A problem you can’t solve, a situation in which you lack control?

When I’ve been chewing on a problem, its bad taste will sometimes wake me up at 3 or 4 in the morning. I’ll go through possible solutions, the mind whirling away like a propeller. Eventually the propeller slows, and one paraphrased verse from the Bible falls on my ear: “Faith casts out fear.”

Faith casts out fear. Faith isn’t just thinking happy thoughts. Faith is the act of going ahead and eating the brussel sprout, trusting that God is going to be there. Faith is trusting that your eyes will be opened, and you WILL see that God is good, and you WILL experience that angelic presence.

Faith casts out fear. Faith says, “Fear, get out of here!”

The other day I ran across something that’s been making the rounds on the internet. It’s called, “A Memo from God,” and I think it’s pretty appropriate here:

To: YOU

Date: TODAY

From: THE BOSS

Subject: YOURSELF

Reference: LIFE

I am God. Today I will be handling all of your problems. Please remember that I do not need your help.

If life happens to deliver a situation to you that you cannot handle, do not attempt to resolve it all at once, and by yourself. Kindly put it in the SFGTD (Something For God To Do) box. All situations will be resolved, but in My time, not yours.

Once the matter is placed into the box, do not hold onto it by worrying about it. Instead, focus on all the wonderful things that are present in your life now.

Is your brussel sprout a problem you can’t solve? Say, “Faith casts out fear,” THEN GIVE IT TO GOD. See if you can’t spot an angel or two.

Your brussel sprout might not be a problem you’re faced with. Your brussel sprout might be something God is calling you to do, but it’s risky or costly.

I firmly believe that when you become a Christian, God doesn’t look at you and say, “Oh, that’s nice. That’s pleasant. Go ahead, have a nice life. Enjoy things. Call me when you need me.”

No, God doesn’t say that, although sometimes we act like it.

Rather, when you give your life to Christ, you vow to follow him. The moment you yield your life to Christ, he rejoices. The angels sing a chorus or two. The Almighty Creator of the universe booms out, “I’m glad you’re back. We’re together again!”

And THEN God says, “Here’s what I need you to do…”

God doesn’t exist to serve you. YOU exist to serve God.

God has things for you to do, and you know what they are.

How do you spend your time? When was the last time you checked something on the Ministry Menu? Do you ever take a moment to seriously consider giving God your time in one of these opportunities? When you see an opportunity to teach, or to greet, or to serve the less fortunate—you feel God’s nudge. Are you going to allow yourself to be nudged?

God has things for you to do, and you know what they are.

How do you spend your money? When you get your paycheck, do you first give to God, out of thankfulness, or do you give to God last, with whatever’s left over from paying the bills to support the lifestyle that has you stressed out? Are you intentionally trying to give back to God, even striving for the biblical model of tithing, of giving 10 percent, or do you feel like that’s too hard, and too much?

God has things for you to do, and you know what they are.

How do you care for your soul? When you start your day, is it with a flurry of activity, and when you end your day, is it with an exhausted spirit? When, in that day, did you spend quality time with God? When did you sit down, quiet yourself, and listen? When did you take time in the week to feed on God’s Word, either alone or with a group of people?

God has things for you to do, and you know what they are. The reason you and I don’t do them isn’t so much because we’re lazy or self-indulgent. The reason is that we’re scared. We don’t think God will come through. We don’t think God will be with us. We don’t trust God.

We don’t believe that when we bite that brussel sprout, our eyes will be opened, and we’ll feel God’s presence.

But the Gospel for you and me is this: you WILL experience God more passionately than ever before when you do something outrageous on God’s behalf.

Is your brussel sprout something God’s calling you to do, but is risky or costly? THEN DO IT FOR GOD.

If you want to feel God’s presence, don’t just sit and think happy thoughts. Do something concrete. Give God your problem. Do what God’s calling you to do. And you will be totally, utterly amazed at how powerfully present God WILL be. You will be amazed at what good DOES come from your plate of brussel sprouts.

I began this sermon talking about airplanes. Let me end it with cars.

It was a man’s first week in a new job. He was new to the area and to the type of work expected of him. He was expecting to spend the week in the office, learning things. But almost immediately he was given an assignment across the city. He didn’t feel prepared for it. He was nervous. Panicking, and wondering what he would do, he went to the parking lot. He found a company car, got in, started it up, when he heard a tapping on the window. It was the president of the company. He got in the car and sat down. "I'm going with you," he said.

The man reflected later,

In that moment my sense of fear was gone. Often we are confronted by assignments, problems, and heartaches that are bigger than we can handle. I'm not up to this, we think. I can never face this! What makes the difference is that God is with us. --Robert E. Rogers

I like this story, but I might have to disagree with the man on one point.

God doesn’t knock on the car door window, asking to get in. God’s already in the car, buckled up and waiting. It’s up to US to sit down next to Him…and start the engine.