Seek Him Where He Lives

At a conference over Labor Day we heard a word that greatly impacted us, bringing us a deeper sense of awareness of the Presence of the Lord. It was not part of the teacher's message, more of a casual remark as he was winding up after his message. What he said was "Don't focus on externals - focus on the internal."

I thought of how I get all caught up in circumstances and situations, news and reports, television and movies, and everything else that is external to me - bills, books, videos, etc. I let those things determine how I feel.

The speaker didn't say we have to give these things up, so it's not about asceticism. It's about replacing one thing with another. If I put my effort into ignoring external things, I'd really be focusing on them, but if I instead put my attention somewhere else then I displace the negative influence with the positive one.

Jesus, being sovereign, rules and reigns over all the earth, and He isn't worried about these situations. God never has a bad day so why should we? We, being the temple of the Holy Spirit, ought to be more mindful of His activity within us.

What has worry ever accomplished? Personally, it's only made me feel worse than I did when I woke up, and I'm quite sure it never changed the situation I worried about. (Of course, I did get to experience the relief that comes when I found out that the situation was never as bad as I thought it would be!)

I've been thinking on the fact that all the symbols of the Holy Spirit are things that move - wind, fire, rain, and so forth. He is constantly moving - we're just not aware of it. If we will focus more on Him where He lives - in our inner beings - we'll not only experience more of His Presence but also be more aligned with His purposes in the earth. Besides, we'll wake up feeling a lot better.

I think this is what it means to be in the world but not of it. We can't avoid contact with the world, we're in it face first from morning to night. But we don't have to make it the be-all and the end-all of existence. Jesus is the One we love and adore; we can become more aware of Him and His beauty by focusing on Him instead of everything else under the sun.

Very often we live under misconceptions. We pray "Holy Spirit, come." Now, that's a good prayer, but we need to be vitally aware that He's already here. He's not going to come through the roof - He's going to rise up from within us, because He has made us His habitation in the earth.

I'm still processing the significance of this and learning to walk in it. It's a wonderful adventure and a liberating thing to become disconnected from external things - even while in the midst of them - and become more focused and attached to the Source of true life. It doesn't cost anything and I can do it anytime and all the time. That's just like something God would come up with.