Presence

My cat is a picky creature. She has a particular brand of cat food and won’t eat anything else. She is just as choosy about her treats. The little orange fur ball knows exactly when she wants to be petted, or brushed, and how. Sometimes, you have to brush her while she is on the floor. Sometimes, she wants to be held, but you can’t sit down in a chair and put her on your lap. No, you have to stand up and hold her like a baby on your shoulder. Such is the life of a cat owner, a slave to the feline’s whim.

Every cat I’ve met has a similar finicky nature. They are particular creatures. Sometimes, it seems the oddest thing they do is simply sit in the same room. They don’t want to be touched, held or petted. They don’t want attention of any sort. They might stare at you, or completely ignore you. But if you get up and go into a different room of the house, they will follow. Not because they want food or attention, but because they want to be in your presence.

Presence is such an important thing for all creatures. There are usually two animals in a cage at a zoo, because zookeepers know the animals need company. Babies can’t talk or interact with adults, but they will cry and cry not for food or a wet diaper but just to be held. I cannot sleep in an empty house. Even if I can’t see or hear the other person, the building feels different simply because I know someone is there.

Presence. No man is an island. We cannot survive in complete isolation. The simply fact that other people are there around us, with us, near us, contributes significantly to our emotional well-being. It’s why we pursue relationships, sometimes even destructive and unhealthy ones. We crave presence, we do not want to be all alone.

In some ways, the Holy Spirit is the greatest gift God ever gave us. The Spirit is presence. Even if you are not praying, seeking, reading your Bible or being moved to act at the moment, the Spirit of God is with you. His presence is inside of you. You are not alone.

When I am sad, I don’t want to talk. When I am mad, I don’t want you to fix the problem. I simply need someone to be there, to be with me, to touch my shoulder or hold my hand and know that I am not alone. Personally, I’m not a super cuddly person. But sometimes even I still just want to feel two arms wrapped around me, or the steady rhythm of a heartbeat when my ear is pressed up against a loved one’s chest.

Presence. There is other life in this world besides me. There are other needs in this world besides me. There are people to help me. There are people who need me. Presence.

Knowing that the Holy Spirit is here with me is the ultimate hug. Feeling the warm lump in my chest is like a tender hand squeezing my shoulder. God is present in me. There is life outside of this world. There is someone hugely powerful paying attention to me. There is someone amazing who wants to be near me.

Presence is a powerful force. To ‘be there’ for someone is probably the most important thing you can do in a relationship. Whether you do something that feels useful or simply make yourself available for some companionship time, presence is important.

I love God. He made this world with all its beautiful wonders, he made me and my family and all of the crazy, zany people I live and work with ever day. I love Jesus, he came to earth to be with us and to teach us. He broke down the barriers we had put up between ourselves and between God, he gave up everything including his life.

But it is the Holy Spirit that truly moves me, truly shapes me, truly helps me to know in the depths of my heart that God is Good and Jesus is Lord. It is because the Holy Spirit is presence, the thing that I need the most to see me through the daily grind. The thing I can lean on and depend on from day to day. The Spirit has been called an Advocate, Counselor, Helper and lots of other things. But I call it Presence, my slice of heaven now, my connection to everything and everyone that is important.

“Be still and know that I am God” is the line of a song calling us to simply be with God. To set aside all problems and complaints and praises and joy. To simply be in the presence of the Lord, like my cat likes to be in the same room with me. I want to challenge you to take a day and not pray. Don’t ask for anything. Don’t thank God for anything. Make no demands, forget language completely. Clear your head and simply enjoy HIS Presence. It’s the closest you’ll get to heaven while you still breathe. So breathe in the Spirit, and know that you are never alone.