Walking with God: 2 Powerful Reasons for His Presence
We’ve made it to Day 15 of our #GodlyAdventure! Did you know there are two powerful reasons for His presence in your life? For our final day, Elaine Goddard explains why. And bloggers, the #BVNetworkParty is open!
As I begin this last segment in our Walking with God event, I want to encourage you to take a moment with me to pause and reflect on where you are on your walk with God.
Where are you?
As my dear sisters in Christ have shared their hearts and experiences from their own walks with God, it is possible to be left wondering:
Is walking with God being in God’s presence or is walking with God being His presence for others? And just how do I balance this seemingly endless tug of war between self-care and others-care?
Take a moment with me to pause and reflect on where you are on your walk with God.River of Golden Dreams
On a recent family vacation to Whistler Canada, we decided to take a tour canoeing down the “River of Golden Dreams.” Loaded up in four two-person canoes and two single kayaks, we began our journey across the lake to the mouth of the river.
Quickly after entering the river the reality set in as to the truth of the so called River of Golden Dreams. This water way was more of a drainage ditch that flowed beside a railroad track. We spent much of our time with our heads down and our backs straining against the paddles. We labored on our journey trying to navigate the curves of the water way without slamming against the thick trees and brush growing along the banks.
At times the stream would open, the current slow, and we were able to lift our eyes to the beautiful mountain vistas that surrounded us. It was of course these moments that we captured and posted on social media. And I am sure these are the moments that gave this journey its name, The River of Golden Dreams.
The Purpose of Bread and Seed
Our lives daily walking with God are similar to my experience on the River of Golden Dreams. We begin our new life in Christ with the hope of mountain top experiences. And somewhere along the path, we find ourselves toiling in the mundane, wondering where we are and what we are doing. For me to stop ending up on the burned-out path, the Lord had to reveal to my heart the answer to my original question:
Walking with God is both being in God’s presence and being His presence.
Oswald Chambers in My Utmost for His Highest says it this way:
Prayer is the working of the miracle of redemption in me, which produces the miracle of redemption in others, through the power of God.
This is exemplified through the life of Christ, who got up early to be alone with the Father and then poured out to the crowds. Christ got in the Father’s presence so He could be the Father’s presence to others. No matter our physical work, I believe this is our calling to daily, purposefully get into Our Father’s presence to receive our daily bread and receive seed for sowing into others.
Stumbling Blocks on the Journey
On this journey of walking with God, my tendency is to hide in my prayer closet to be in His presence and receive. Here in my prayer closet I am the most devoted disciple and marvelous Christian; that is, until my family comes home or a neighbor needs something. And because I have consumed all that God has poured out for me, I have nothing left to offer them.
The weakness on the flipside is to always be pouring out for others and never taking time to allow the Lord to pour in. This one will go work and serve until they are so burned out they cannot continue.
In order to have my soul wake up to always be with the God who is always with me, I need to daily be a Mary, soaking in His presence…so I can daily be a Martha, pouring out His presence for others.
The sweet promise of God’s Word is that,
He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest. 2 Corinthians 9:10.
I have to let the truth of this soak in: that as I sow seed, God will not only provide, He will multiply His provision.
I need to daily be a Mary, soaking in His presence, so I can daily be a Martha, pouring out His presence for others.Thoughts to Ponder
By consuming all of the resources that God has given me am I eating someone else’s bread?
By pouring out everything God has given me, will I have enough strength?
Steps for the Journey
I hope you will join with me in waking up our souls to walk with our God who always walks with us and:
- Commit to meeting with Him, sit in His presence, read His Word, receive your daily bread, and ask for an abundance of seed for sowing.
- Ask Him to open your eyes and ears to show you where He is calling you to sow the seed He has given you.
- Reap the bountiful blessing that when we don’t consume all His resources for our self, He will continue to provide more seed for sowing.
- Receive His renewal when we pause and eat our daily bread, allowing God to restore our strength for all that He has called us to accomplish.
It is our prayer that through this Walking with God series, your soul will awaken to always walk with the God who always walks with us both in seeking His presence and in being His presence for others.
Who do you sow into on a regular basis, being His presence to?
Elaine Goddard is a Christian Life Coach and Personal Prayer Trainer. She stepped away from a NASA engineering career with the passion for prayer and helping others deepen their relationship with God. Elaine enjoys speaking and teaching to both groups and individuals. She shares scripture insights and prayers in a daily devotional at http://www.highway2Him.com/prayer-closet/. Elaine and her husband Tom have five children ranging from young and at home to grown and out on their own.
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Elaine Goddard is a Christian Life Coach and Personal Prayer Trainer. She stepped away from a NASA engineering career with the passion for prayer and helping others deepen their relationship with God. Elaine enjoys speaking and teaching to both groups and individuals. She shares scripture insights and prayers in a daily devotional at Did you enter the giveaway yet?
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I love the reminder that we are to be both Mary and Martha, but Mary has to come first. When we try to do the work first, we end up frazzled and empty, but when we soak in Jesus first, we have abundant love to pour out!
Rebecca, you are so right, Mary has to come first. Otherwise we have nothing of value to give. Thank you so much for commenting.
Elaine, thank you for your reminder that we are called to be both Mary and Martha and that the best starting place is Mary’s posture of learning and listening to Jesus. And also to take that learning and insight to become more like Martha to serve. The key is finding and keeping a balance.
Anne, thank you. I wonder if we have seasons that ‘balance’ looks different. Of course always seeking Him first.
It’s both being IN his presence and BEING his presence.
LOVE this!!!!!!
It is so easy to lose sight of who God is and how is working when we come off the mountain top. We get consumed in our own ordinary, but God is still amazing. And He still has amazing plans for my life.
What a fresh way of looking at this! Balancing the Mary and the Martha in our lives is surely a challenge.