2 Corinthians 3:17 (ESV)
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
The Holy Spirit, being God, possesses all the attributes of God. This means therefore that He is omni-present (He is present everywhere) and the idea is well articulated by the Psalmist when he declares in Psalm 139:7-12:
Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
There is no place nor realm that is free from the presence of the Spirit. However, despite the Holy Spirit being present everywhere, the believer has the privilege of experiencing His presence manifested in their life. The gathered church also has this privilege. This manifest presence of the Holy Spirit comes with the advantages of who He is and as David would say, “In your presence, there is fullness of joy, at your right hand there are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11). Maximum joy and never-ending pleasures are some of the gains of experiencing the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit. Freedom, as our text above reveals, is another significant marker of the Spirit’s presence – Freedom from addictions, freedom from anxiety, freedom from fear, freedom to worship God, etc.
How then can we experience this presence? This is a question that each of us should genuinely ask. The answer, again, is found in what David said and practised, “I have set the LORD always before me.” (Psalm 16:8). We therefore must learn to always have a sense of God or, in other words, we must learn to be aware of the Spirit’s presence at all times. The believer’s awareness, therefore, is the difference maker in whether one will experience the presence of the Holy Spirit or not. He is always present but we must teach ourselves to be aware of Him. So, create little pockets of time throughout your day when you practise the presence of God – make short prayers, meditate on a passage of Scripture, sing uplifting songs, etc.
Reflections
1. In what ways does the Holy Spirit manifest His presence?
2. What do you need to do create an awareness of the Spirit’s presence in your life?