Paul reminds us that we are the temple of God. It is crucial to be reminded of this truth because we often forget that the Holy Spirit resides within us. Despite these reminders, we are not always mindful of treating our bodies as the temple of God. When David sinned, he pleaded with God not to take His Spirit from him, recognizing that sin causes the Spirit of God to depart. The scripture tells us that all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), a verse everyone remembers because it resonates with our own experiences.
However, the subsequent verse, which speaks of our redemption through Christ, is less remembered due to a lack of personal experience with this truth. Walking in the light and standing on the truth is an experiential reality, not mere hearsay. With this perspective, let us examine the circumstances that prevent us from feeling the presence of the Holy Spirit within our bodies.
Rituals Lead Us To Forget The Presence Of God
Our sufferings often lead us to forget His presence. Unlike David, who pleaded for God to remain with him, we tend to believe that the Spirit of God has already departed from us. Sin instils fear and doubt in us, causing us to question His enduring grace and revert to relying on the law, rejecting grace. This happens because our rituals, (such as fasting, prayers, and pledging) often teach us to seek God only during difficult times, promising that our pain will disappear if we seek Him. This illusion drives many to seek God, but when their pain persists, they turn away from Him and find it difficult to return.
His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity?
Curse God and die!” – Job 2:9 (NIV)
Job’s wife was the perfect example of people who turn away from God when they face challenging situation. Unlike his wife, Job understood the ways of God in a much better way and said
“But if I go to the east, he is not there;
if I go to the west, I do not find him.
When he is at work in the north, I do not see him;
when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.
But he knows the way that I take;
when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. – Job 23:8-10 (NIV)
Initially, Job may have sacrificed burnt offerings to gain assurance from God for his children’s protection (Job 1:5). Fortunately, Job did not rely on such acts to maintain God’s presence. Instead, Job acknowledged God’s never-ending grace, which cared for him even when he could not sense His presence. Our God does not bribe us with His choicest blessings; rather, He chooses to be with us in our greatest sufferings to reveal His love and grace.
Yet, we often complain, like the labourers in the vineyard who worked all day but received only a dinar. They failed to value the experience of being with the Sovereign God, trading that marvellous experience for a mere price tag on their time with the Master.
Religion Leads Us To Forget The Presence Of God
God did not create any religion; man did, to barricade people from approaching God directly. People often fail to see religion as this barrier and instead choose to confine themselves within its walls. This is because religion demands no inward spiritual change but focuses on outward changes to join its culture.
Religions restrict people from discovering the truth, leading them to explore various beliefs and practices under the theory of relativism, where some people feel no single religion holds absolute truth. Cultural shifts toward individualism and personal autonomy further impact beliefs, discouraging adherence to traditional religious structures. Despite this awareness, innocent people still find man-made laws and religious leaders in place of God, leading to disillusionment.
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. – Romans 1:21 (NIV)
Consequently, people often fail to understand the ways of God, even though Jesus told us that He is the way. Instead, they get lost, enclosing themselves within the confines of religion rather than truly following Him.
As The Deer Pants…
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” – Psalms 42:1-3 (NIV)
The Psalmist expressed his deep desire to seek God and be in His presence, comparing himself to a thirsty deer panting for water. He also described his pitiable condition, which led others to question his integrity with God. From this, we understand that it wasn’t victory or blessings that drove him to seek God, but rather his challenging situation and struggle to find solace in God’s presence. This implies that he must have experienced God’s presence at some point, prompting him to seek it again. Have we had such encounters with our Father God at any stage in our lives?
To understand this better, consider if God had given David the desired victory; he would be preoccupied with ruling his people and planning further wars. If God had healed him from illness, he would have thanked God and continued with his life. So, what made him seek God in his undesired circumstances?
While blessings can sometimes draw us near to God, they often lead us astray. Jesus told a parable of a marriage banquet where the invited guests were too busy with their blessings to attend. Often, our blessings prevent us from approaching God. We become self-sufficient and see no reason to seek Him. Similarly, healing may lead us to thank God momentarily, after which we return to our own lives. So, what made the Psalmist yearn for God’s presence?
The Love Of God Leads Us To Reciprocate
God demonstrated His love for us by giving us His Son, Jesus. This act of love shows that it was not we who first loved God, but He who loved us despite our unworthiness. This divine love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, as stated in Romans 5:5. From this, we should understand that the Holy Spirit and the love of God are inseparable. However, some seek the power of the Holy Spirit in their ministries while neglecting the love of God. In his letter to the Romans, Paul asks, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?” (Romans 8:35). He then answers with the depth of his experience in Jesus.
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:37-39 (NIV)
Have we truly conquered the things mentioned above through God who loves us? To affirm this, we must personally experience the love of God. When we experience His love, we will inevitably love Him in return. This reciprocal love can only occur through the Holy Spirit, who dwells within us. However, we often forget the presence of the Holy Spirit, which indicates that we do not love God as we should.
We often love God because of the blessings He bestows on us or the miraculous healings He provides. However, this kind of love is conditional, whereas God loves us unconditionally. Because our love is based on conditions, we tend to seek God only when we need something. Once our needs are met, our love for God often fades. So, what causes us to love Him wholeheartedly and seek Him consistently? And what makes us conquerors?
An Illustration
While Jesus was dining at the house of Simon the Pharisee, a sinful woman entered and began wetting His feet with her tears. She applied an expensive perfume and wiped His feet with her hair. Observing this, Jesus presented a parable to those present: “A certain lender had two debtors. One owed five hundred shillings and the other fifty. When neither could repay, he forgave both debts. Which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “I suppose the one who was forgiven the most.” Jesus used this answer to illustrate that the person who has been forgiven more will love more.
Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.- Luke 7:47 (ASV)
The woman from whom Jesus cast out seven evil spirits confirmed the truth of His words through her actions. She became a role model for us, demonstrating how we should love and seek our Lord. Yet on the day of the resurrection, no one else desired to seek the buried body of Jesus except for this woman, Mary Magdalene. Unable to bear the separation, she searched for Jesus’ body. Since Jesus had forgiven her much by delivering her from the clutches of seven evil spirits, she loved Him deeply and ventured out to find Him. Ultimately, she met the resurrected Jesus and witnessed His resurrection with her own eyes. If she had not visited the grave on the third day, there would have been no one to share this good news. From her actions, we learn that the assurance of our sins being forgiven leads us to seek Him consistently.
Many others were satisfied by eating the fish and bread provided by Jesus. Some families received their dead back to life, people healed from various diseases, lepers cleansed by Jesus, and Peter, was blessed with a netful of fish. However, it is noteworthy that none of these people sought Jesus on the morning of His resurrection. For this reason, Paul warns us:
If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most pitiable.- 1 Corinthians 15:19 (ASV)
Worldly blessings and healing are not enough to ignite our love for God. There are many sources, other than God, through which we can receive blessings and healing. However, none of these sources can cleanse us by washing us with the blood of Jesus Christ and proclaiming forgiveness. Only God has the power to forgive us, and Jesus is the sole reason we have the opportunity to receive this forgiveness from God, our Father.
When we know the truth that our sins are forgiven by God, we will love Him more and seek Him wholeheartedly. Mary Magdalene ran to the grave, probably crying out, “Where is He who forgave my sins?” Have we ever cried out, “Where is my God who has forgiven my sins?” If we cry out sincerely, we will find Him dwelling within our hearts as a guarantor of our salvation.
Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. – 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 (NIV)
The Jordan Valley 
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