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•9 . The Provision of His Presence cO Are you aware that God is with you always? Many Christians readily proclaim, "God is always there," but if they are pressed for an honest response, they will also admit, "I don't always feel God. I'm not always aware of His presence with me." Too often this is...

•9 . The Provision of His Presence cO Are you aware that God is with you always? Many Christians readily proclaim, "God is always there," but if they are pressed for an honest response, they will also admit, "I don't always feel God. I'm not always aware of His presence with me." Too often this is true when we experience periods of intense neediness or when we truly confront our inner state of neediness for the first time. In the previous chapter we discussed primarily how God provides a way out for us when we have need, and we briefly touched upon the nature of God as He walks with us through our need all the way to His full provision and blessing. In this chapter, I want to focus on the nature of God's relationship with us and how we can fully experience the provision of His presence. DELIGHTING IN THE LORD Psalm 37:4 gives us one of the most precious and sweet promises of God related to our desires: Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. How many people do you know who have that verse underlined or highlighted in their Bibles? 105 106 • Our Unmet Needs But look at the first line of that psalm: "Delight yourself also in the LORD." When you delight yourself in another person, you spend as much time as possible with that person, and you get to know that person as well as possible. When you are delighted in your relationship with another person, you are fulfilled, complete, satisfied, content, and joyful in your relationship. If you experience such a relationship, many material and physical things usually become very unimportant. Think back to a time when you were very much in love with another person. You could spend hours and hours with that person doing virtually nothing, with nothing, and at very little expense. Just taking a long walk with that person or sitting on a porch swing by the hour with that person was sheer delight. Driving,to get an ice-cream cone and sitting in the car watching the people go by—those were satisfying and enjoyable moments. You weren't concerned about the designer label on the clothes you were wearing, the make of the watch on your wrist, or even the model of the car you were sitting in. You weren't concerned about having a lot of other people around you. You were fully content just to be in the presence of the one you loved. The most important thing to you in the moments you spent together was the relationship you were building. And so it is when we come to delight in our relationship with the Lord. Nothing else really matters when we experience an intimate time with the Lord. Everything else pales in comparison to Him. As the old Gospel song "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" says, in the light of Jesus' glory and grace, "the things of earth will grow strangely dim." Are you content when you are with the Lord? Do you truly delight in Him? Are you spending enough time with the Lord to become delighted in Him? I have discovered over the years that most people I meet haven't taken the time or made the effort to get to know the Lord. Not really. Not deeply. Not in an intimate way that allows them to feel the heartbeat of God and to know God's vast and eternal love. The reasons for their failure to know the Lord in a deep and satisfying way are many—fear of God's judgment, fear of what others might say, lack of information, poor teaching in the past, a failure of perception or understanding, a lack of making the Lord a priority. Once a person truly gets to know the Lord, however, that person is going to discover that it is a delight to know the Lord. No times are The Provision of His Presence • 107 sweeter than the times spent with Him. No times are more fulfilling, satisfying, or joyful than the times spent basking in His presence. When our relationship is one of delight in the Lord, we are not going to want to do things, possess or use things, or enter into any relationship that will damage in any way our relationship with the Lord. Again, think back to the way you felt when you were deeply in love. To the best of your ability, you didn't let anything come between you and your loved one. Nothing mattered as much as keeping your relationship as wonderful as it was on the first day you fell in love. So it is with the person who delights himself in the Lord. Such a person will not want anything that might inhibit, hinder, stall, or interfere with his relationship with the Lord. In terms we have discussed previously, the person will want only what is good for the relationship. When we seek the Lord and delight ourselves in Him we want only what is pleasing to Him and only what He wants us to have. Furthermore, we will be satisfied completely with what the Lord gives us. As 1 John 1:3 tells us, "Truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ." That's the ultimate fellowship! Knowing God. Communicating with Him—pouring out our hearts to Him and hearing His desires, His plan for us, His purposes. Loving Him with all our hearts and receiving an awareness of His vast love. Being at peace with God and knowing God's peace in our hearts. Praising God and being filled with God's joy. Being in a position to say, "My God." That is truly what it means to have fellowship with God. GOD'S PROMISE TO MEET OUR NEEDS When God meets our inner needs with the provision of His presence, we can be assured always that part of His provision will be to give us these things: • Contentment—deep and abiding inner peace and calm • Strength—great courage and fortitude to endure all things • Fulfillment—a full and satisfying feeling of supply related to our purpose on this earth Throughout this book, we have been focusing on God's need-meeting promise in Philippians 4:19: "My God shall supply all your need 108 • Our Unmet Needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." To fully understand this verse, we must understand its context. Paul's entire letter to the Philippians is related to needs and needmeeting. The Philippians were tremendously helpful in meeting Paul's material and financial needs. Paul began his letter to them by saying, "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, alWays in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now" (Phil. 1:3-5). Their fellowship in the gospel is translated in one version as their participation in the gospel— in other words, the things that the Philippians did to help Paul spread the gospel and teach the new believers. In the fourth chapter of Philippians, Paul again thanked them for their support: But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Nevertheless you have done well that you shared in my distress. Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. Not that I seek thegift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:10-19) I want you to notice two things in this passage. First, Paul was a man who knew about need. He was writing the letter to the Philippians from a prison cell in Rome, so he certainly had a keen awareness of his external needs even as he wrote. Paul never made a claim that the Christian life is a need-free life, or that as Christians, we can mature to the point that we never face need. Paul knew that needs exist for us every day of The Provision of His Presence • 109 our lives. We never outgrow our neediness or mature to the point that we don't have needs. Second, Paul was willing to admit his neediness and to share what he learned about needs and how to deal with them. Paul encouraged the Philippians in the truths he learned from having experienced needs. Never be ashamed of your past needs or your current neediness. Be quick to encourage others by telling them how God has met your needs in the past and how you believe He will meet their needs. CONTENT IN ALL STATES Paul said that he learned to be content regardless of his circumstances—in whatever state he was in. Paul was not content with troubles, trials, suffering, pain, or need. He felt pain and need just as much as any other person. But he learned to be content in times of difficulty. His internal state was one of contentment even when his outward state was one of turmoil, trial, or trouble. No stranger to outer pain and suffering, Paul was stoned and left for dead in Lystra, beaten and imprisoned in Philippi, and persecuted and defamed publicly nearly everywhere he went. To those in the Corinthian church who compared him to other preachers, Paul wrote that he was "in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often" (2 Cor. 11:23). He then went on to detail for the Corinthians some of the needs and troubles he had experienced in his ministry: From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastin,gs often, in cold and nakedness —besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches. (2 Cor. 11:24-28) Few people can match Paul in severity and frequency of need and suffering externally. Yet Paul wrote that in the midst of such outer troubles, he learned to be content internally. 110 • Our Unmet Needs How many truly contented people do you know? I suspect that the number is very few. And yet if you look closely at the lives of those who truly and genuinely are contented, you are going to find that their contentment has nothing whatsoever to do with material things, relationships, or achievements. I've met truly contented people who were single, and I've met some who were married. I have met genuinely contented people who were poor, and a few who had been given great wealth. I have met contented people who were totally without fame and recognition, and in many ways, without fantastic jobs or great successes, and I've met a few who were content regardless of their fame and success. In many cases, the very thing that people think will bring them contentment turns out to be the very thing that creates more problems and turmoil for them. In the end, only the Lord Jesus Christ Himself can bring about contentment in a person's life. Paul was able to say, "I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:11-13). Be careful that you don't misread these verses. Paul did not say that Christ strengthened him only when he was struggling, suffering, hungry, or abased. Christ strengthened Paul in all states in which he found himself. He strengthened Paul when he was full, abounding, safe, and without pain or struggle. We often don't think about this. Paul had no less need for Christ's strength when things were good. In times of abounding, Paul needed Christ's strength to keep him humble, keenly aware of others and generous toward them, thankful, energized, and an active witness of God's power. When things are going well for us, we need Christ's strength to keep us from pride, laziness, and self-sufficiency. Paul said that he learned to be content "in whatever state I am." His contentment was in Christ—not in things or in circumstances. His contentment lay in his relationship with the Need Meeter, not in the fact that his needs were met momentarily. I heard about a man who experienced great contentment and love in the presence of his wife just by holding her hand. The man's wife suffered with a terminal disease for three years before she died, and as she became The Provision of His Presence • 111 weaker and weaker in the final months, the man pulled his chair close to hers, and they held hands and stared into each other's eyes. No words needed to be spoken. No physical embrace needed to be shared. The love was just as rich and freely flowing between them through the looks in their eyes and the touch of their fingertips. No grasping. No desperate dinging. No clamoring for attention. No pleas for acts of affection. True contentment is always marked by a lack of striving—a lack of grasping, a lack of demanding, a lack of insistence. True contentment lies not in having, but in knowing—of knowing that you are accepted, loved, forgiven, valued in spite of what you may or may not have in your hands or surrounding you. True contentment is not rooted in environment or in any aspect of the natural and spiritual world. Ultimate contentment is rooted in relationship with Jesus Christ and in Him alone. STRENGTH TO FACE ALL CIRCUMSTANCES Paul also taught that he had learned to experience strength in all things. Paul might have had times when he felt weak in his flesh, but he knew that even in those times of natural and physical weakness, he could experience the strength of Christ internally. Paul wrote to the Corinthians about his ability to feel strong spiritually in the face of physical weakness: A thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore mostgladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Cor. 12:7-10) Paul's thdrn-in-the-flesh experience brought him to the position where he could fully allow the strength of Christ to be his strength. Paul was not saying that he delighted in the pain and suffering; rather, he had learned those were opportunities when he could and would feel an even greater flow of Christ's strength in his inner being. Paul's reliance upon 112 • Our Unmet Needs Christ's strength became a vivid witness to others who saw his physical suffering, and for that, Paul was grateful. Some people today will claim, "Troubles make you strong." They are wrong. Troubles destroy some people. Troubles weaken others. There is nothing inherent about troubles that results in making us strong emotionally and spiritually. The truth, as Paul stated it so well, is that when we rely upon Christ Jesus in our times of trouble, He makes us strong. He imparts His strength to us and as we receive His strength, we are made strong. A FULL SUPPLY FOR ALL THAT IS LACKING Paul said that he learned to experience "supply" for all his needs. We do not know what gifts Epaphroditus brought from the Philippians to Paul. We do know that Paul regarded their gift as pleasing to God and more than sufficient. To be supplied to the point that you can say, "I have all and abound," is to be fully satisfied. (See Phil. 4:17.) Paul saw all of his needs as being met, and out of that inner feeling of satisfaction, Paul boldly declared to the Philippians his assurance that they, too, would have all of their need supplied by God according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (v. 19). Most people tend to think that the gifts Epaphroditus brought to Paul were only material. The gift no doubt was at least partly material since the family and friends of Roman prisoners were expected to provide material provision for those detained by Roman officials, especially those under house arrest as Paul appeared to be. But prisoners' needs then and now are not merely material. They are also social, emotional, and spiritual. Paul was undoubtedly encouraged by the friendship of Epaphroditus. Paul could communicate fully with him about matters pertaining to his faith and to the work of the Lord. Paul no doubt could both laugh and cry with him. Such Christ-centered friendship is priceless! Furthermore, Epaphroditus no doubt brought a good word about Paul's friends in Philippi and elsewhere in the regions where Paul had traveled and ministered. How encouraging that must have been to Paul—to know that his work had not been in vain, that his efforts were bearing fruit, that the work of the Lord was going forward, that the church in Philippi was strong. We all need others to affirm that our The Provision of His Presence • 113 efforts have been valuable and beneficial to them. We need their gifts, their friendship, and their encouragement that our lives have had purpose and meaning. Through such affirmation, we experience a full feeling in our hearts that we call fulfillment. A deep satisfaction comes when we know we truly have helped others in an eternally beneficial way. Paul received a full blessing from Epaphroditus—material provision for his external needs but also emotional and spiritual encouragement that was a provision for Paul's inner needs. Wouldn't we all like to be able to say with Paul that regardless of what happens to us, we are content, strong, and fully satisfied? In truth, we can have that inner state of being. A LEARNING PROCESS We should also note that it was a learning process for Paul. He said very plainly, "I have learned . . ." (vv. 11-12). Paul didn't instantly reach a state of inner contentment, strength, and satisfaction. He grew into that state of being as he "learned Christ." What Paul had learned, we can learn. Paul made that very clear. Even if you have never felt much peace in your life, you can learn to be content. If you have always thought of yourself as weak and needy, you can learn to be strong, and if you have thought of yourself as strong, you can learn to be stronger. If you have felt uncertain about your purpose in life and whether you are fulfilling it before God, you can learn to experience inner fulfillment as well as learn what it means to receive an abundance of external blessing. This learning process is part of a growing relationship with the Lord. It ultimately is "learning God." It is knowing the Lord and delighting in Him with increasing delight. EXPERIENCING GOD'S PROVISION IN CRISIS TIMES God desires that we experience Him always and that we draw contentment, strength, and total satisfaction from our relationship with Him at all times. It is especially important, however, that we experience the provision of God's presence in the stormy times of our lives, the times 114 • Our Unmet Needs when we are keenly aware of our needs or neediness. Such times come for us all. Every person's life is marked by storms of one kind or another. The reality for each of us is that we are in a storm, have just emerged from a storm, or are about to enter a storm. No geographic area of the earth is immune from natural atmospheric storms, and no person or relationship is immune from inner storms. Since we cannot avoid storms, we must learn to deal with them. All kinds of atmospheric storms impact us on this earth—windstorms, sandstorms, rainstorms, thunderstorms, snowstorms. At times these storms are driving, blinding, destructive, and costly, even to the costing of life itself. Such storms often make the headlines—they evoke a ripple effect of devastation in the general public and, in many cases, bring about a response of public compassion and concern. We also face a number of emotional storms in our lives, no less blinding, destructive, and devastating. If these storms are known by the public, even a small group of friends, they also have a ripple effect. No emotional storm impacts only one person. The response to emotional storms is somewhat different from the response to atmospheric storms. Some respond to the victims of emotional storms with compassion and concern, others shun the persons at the center of the storms, and still others tend to be critical of those who experience emotional storms, usually blaming them in some way for what has happened. In dealing with a storm, we are called to examine the way in which we confront a storm and the manner in which we respond to both the instigators and the victims of that storm. What happens if the emotional storm a person experiences is not readily known by others? Does the storm impact others any less? Not really. An emotional storm within a person or family will spill over to impact others in ways that may not be readily understood or even identified as relating to the storm. For example, anger that brews within a person is likely to erupt suddenly and sometimes violently, and often it is aimed at someone who was not the initial reason for the anger. The innocent victims of such anger are left wondering, Where did that come from? What brought that on? They have no understanding of the inner emotional storm that had been raging and very likely is continuing to rage in silence within the person. The Provision of His Presence • 115 The conclusion we must draw is this: storms occur, and storms cause damage—sooner or later, to greater or lesser degrees—unless they are dealt with by the only One capable of truly calming a natural or emotional storm, Jesus Christ. In learning to deal with life's storms, we must turn to Jesus and discover the provision that He makes for us when storms strike us. OUR RESPONSE TO THE STORM Let us keep in mind as we study Christ's provision that the nature of the storm is not at issue. The storm may be in a marriage, in health, in finances, in work, in a relationship with children. What we do in the aftermath of a storm, and especially to keep another storm from arising, is very important, and it relates to the nature of the storm. But while we are in a storm, its nature is not an important issue. A storm hits the whole of one's life. If you are having financial difficulties, such a storm will have a profound effect on your marriage and family life, your performance at work and in other areas, and ultimately, if the financial difficulty is not resolved, it may even impact your health. A storm in your marriage will impact your children, your finances, your work, and your health. Neither is the cause of the storm at issue. When you are in the midst of a storm, your primary concern is with survival. Pointing a finger at the person or circumstance that caused the storm is not a productive response. After the storm has passed, you may be wise to take a good, long, objective look at what caused the storm so that if at all possible, you can avoid or avert such a storm in the future. You may be wise to alter your relationship with a storm-causing person in some way, preferably to seek loving reconciliation and greater communication and understanding with that person. But during the storm itself, your concern is not going to be primarily with the cause of the storm. What is your concern in the midst of a storm? How can you survive the storm? How can you live through the situation or circumstance? How can you emerge from the storm? God's Word assures us that Jesus provides answers to these critical questions. One example of the way Jesus deals with those who are experiencing a storm is found in Matthew 14:22-34. We referred to this 116 • Our Unmet Needs story in an earlier chapter, but in this chapter, I want you to focus on several different aspects of the story. Jesus had just finished a full day of tremendous ministry—preaching, teaching, and healing a great multitude of people who followed Him out into a desolate area. Before sending the people away, Jesus had multiplied five loaves and two fish to feed the hungry crowd of five thousand men and their families. Then, no doubt in exhaustion, Jesus made His disciplesget into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. (Matt. 14:22-24) In the fourth watch of the night, sometime between three and six o'clock in the early morning, Jesus went to His disciples who were struggling in the storm; He walked on the sea to them. When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they cried out in their fear, "It is a ghost!" Here is how Matthew told the rest of this story: Immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water" So He said, 'Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "0 you of little faith, why did you doubt?" And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God." When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret. (Matt. 14:27-34) The first thing that we are wise to recognize when a storm strikes is that Jesus is present with us in the storm, just as He was present for His disciples in this story. Jesus is present. He is with us at all times, in all cir- The Provision of His Presence • 117 cumstances. There is never a single moment of your life in which Jesus is not there for you and with you. AWARENESS OF HIS PRESENCE Nothing can match the power of an awareness that Jesus is present. The presence of friends, advisers, and colleagues can never match the presence of Jesus. The disciples had been struggling all night without making any progress. Storms arose suddenly in the Galilee area. The winds came across the land from the Mediterranean Sea and then rushed down the steep valleys into the Sea of Galilee, beating the sea almost as if a giant hand mixer were lowered into the waters. The disciples had struggled against such a wind for at least nine hours and had gone a distance of only about five miles, no doubt fighting for every inch of progress they made to keep the boat from capsizing. Storms strike us quickly at times and often fiercely. We may feel as if there is no way out=everything becomes an intense struggle that seems overwhelming. A woman once said to me about the day that her husband told her he was filing for a divorce, "Everything began to spin. I felt as if I was hanging on to the edge of a world that had gone out of control. For the next few weeks, it was all I could do to hang on. It was a tremendous effort just to get up and get my children off to school and go through the basic routines of what needed to be done in my life. Nothing else mattered— just getting through the day took all of my energy and strength." Emotional storms are often that violent and all-consuming. Jesus knows about storms. You can be assured that He knows every detail about the storm you are experiencing. He knows far more about the storm than you know or will ever know. Furthermore, He knew that His disciples were struggling and battling the storm with all their strength. He knew they were in one of those periods that no doubt seemed to them to be the fight of their lives. He knows how you struggle when you are in a storm. And Jesus' response was this: He came to them. Notice that He did not calm the storm from afar, although He could have done that. He had calmed a natural, physical storm on the Sea of 118 • Our Unmet Needs Galilee at a previous time. This time, Jesus chose not to calm the storm as He had done before. Neither did Jesus ignore the storm, knowing in His sovereignty that the storm would eventually blow over without loss of life or property. Rather, Jesus knew that in this particular storm, the most important thing that His disciples could experience was an awareness of His presence. Note that I said not Jesus' presence, but an awareness of His presence. Jesus was just as much present with His disciples while He was up on the mountain in prayer as He was when He walked on the sea to them. They were never out of His sight or His concern. But the disciples were not aware that Jesus knew or cared about them. Their thoughts were not on Jesus, even though His focus was on them. Their thoughts were so much on things other than Jesus that when Jesus appeared to them walking on the sea, they thought He was a ghost! They were frightened at the sight of Him. We are so like these disciples! We often fail to look for Jesus in the midst of our storms, and we fail to recognize Him when He comes. The likelihood is that Jesus may not come to you in precisely the way you expect Him to come. He may not come to you in a form that you quickly recognize. Probably the last thing on the earth that the disciples expected that night was to see Jesus walking on the water' to them, yet that is the way Jesus chose to reveal Himself to them. Jesus may come to you in a totally unexpected fashion. And if you are not aware that He is present with you or that He cares enough to come to you in your storm, your response to the Lord may be the same as that of the disciples: fear and lack of recognition. Let me give you a very practical example. A woman once told me of her reaction when her family physician said to her, "You have cancer." She said, "Dr. Stanley, it was as if my doctor had just thrown a black blanket of fear over me. I could hardly think. My eyes wouldn't focus. My ears seemed to ring. I was so stunned I felt paralyzed, incapable of moving. I didn't even hear the rest of what the doctor had to say, which was to tell me that he thought this cancer could be stopped with radiation treatments since it was in very early stages. If my daughter hadn't been with me during that appointment, I'm not sure I could have made it out of his office and to the car—I was that much in a fog. The Provision of His Presence • 119 "The next week, I made my first visit to the radiologist that my physician had recommended. I walked into his office and then into the radiology room filled with fear. What I hadn't expected at all was that this man might be a Christian, or that he might be aware of how I was feeling inside. I was completely surprised when he asked me, 'Are you afraid?' I admitted to him that I was fearful, ,not only of the cancer but also of the radiation. Then he said to me, 'I am a Christian, and I believe that prayer can help a person in times like these. Would it be all right with you if I said a prayer for you?' I said, 'Most certainly.' He prayed a sweet but very powerful prayer and as he prayed, I could feel my body relaxing. He took time to talk to me about both the cancer and the radiation treatments. I sensed that he truly cared about me, and I became more confident about what I was facing. "The next time I went to see him I was less afraid. I told him how much his prayer had meant to me, and he asked if we might pray together again before my second treatment. Of course I agreed! This happened each time I went for treatments—thirty-two in all. I tell people now that I had thirty-two radiation treatments and thirty-two prayer treatments! "By the time I had my last treatment, I was almost sorry it was my last visit to see him—not that I wanted more radiation, mind you, but I had come to appreciate this man's prayers and his calm and reassuring faith. It was a few weeks later that the thought struck me, Why, that was Jesus coming to me through the form and skills of that radiologist! The love and power ofJesus in him gave me hope and eased my fears. The presence ofJesus in him had become a part of my healing process!" I don't know the way in which Jesus will come to you in your storm, but I can say to you in full confidence: Jesus will come to you in the precise way and form that you need Him the most. Trust Him to reveal Himself to you. He wants you to know that He is with you in the midst of the storm. FEELINGS OF TOTAL ASSURANCE Why is an awareness of Jesus' presence so important? When we become aware ofJesus with us, several things happen to us. Taken together, these things add up to total assurance. When we are aware that Jesus is with us, we immediately become comforted. 120 • Our Unmet Needs Comforted. Each of us knows that when we are alone, it is much easier to feel fearful, but if we have even one friend with us in a time of trouble, we take comfort in his presence. Jesus is the Friend of friends. One of the terms given to the Holy Spirit is that of Comforter. When you are aware that Jesus is with you in your storm, you can't help being comforted by His presence. More courageous. We take courage that we can face what lies before us. Who comes to us in our storm? The King of kings, the Lord of lords, the almighty, all-sufficient, all-powerful, all-wise, all-loving Savior and Deliverer! With Jesus beside us, who can stand against us? We cannot help feeling more courageous when we are aware that Jesus is by our side. More confident. We become confident that God will see us through. Confidence is directly related to our knowing that a current trial or time of trouble will come to an end. When Jesus appears—throughout the Gospel books of the New Testament and in every instance we can cite in our lives today—He comes as Victor. The devil cannot remain where Jesus dwells. The enemy cannot succeed when Jesus arrives on the scene. Our confidence is no longer in ourselves to be able to survive, to endure, or to conquer; our confidence is in Jesus. Our confidence is based upon who Jesus is and what He will do for us, which always will be for our ultimate and eternal good. (See Rom. 8:28.) NO STORM CAN DRIVE JESUS AWAY An awareness of Jesus' presence also reminds us that no storm can separate us from the Lord. No matter how fierce the storm rages or how powerful it seems to be against us, the storm cannot separate us from God's love, forgiveness, help, or promises. Paul wrote to the Romans, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 8:35, 37-39) The Provision of His Presence • 121 The truth of the Lord's ever-presence (omnipresence) comes to us each time we become aware that He is with us in a storm. Just before His arrest and crucifixion, Jesus spoke to His disciples about His abiding presence with them. He said, "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you" (John 14:18). He promised them that He would send the Holy Spirit to them as their Helper. As Jesus spoke to His disciples after His resurrection, preparing them for His ascension to heaven, He said, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:20). In the form of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is with us at all times. He is always present in our lives, every minute of every hour of every day. How blessed we are to live in the time of the Holy Spirit! When Jesus was alive on the earth, He could not be in two places at one time. But now, Jesus is free of all constraints of time and space. By the power of the Holy Spirit, He is with each of those who believe in Him at all times. We never need to call for Jesus to show up. He is already present. We may have a sudden awareness of His presence, so much so that it feels as if He just showed up, but it is not a sudden coming of Jesus—rather, a sudden awareness on our part. ASK THE LORD TO REVEAL HIMSELF How might we become aware of Jesus' presence? By asking Him to reveal Himself to us. So often, we ask the wrong questions of the Lord. We say, "Where are You, God? Why don't You show up? Can't You see what's happening to me? Can't You see how I am struggling? Can't You see the pain I'm in?" The answer of the Lord, of course, is, "I'm right here with you. I know exactly what's going on!" Our question of the Lord should be, "What is keeping me from seeing You? Help me to see You and to experience Your presence!" One of the most intense emotional storms described in the New Testament is that experienced by Mary and Martha, in the aftermath of their brother's death. Lazarus became sick, and Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick" (John 11:3). Jesus responded by saying, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it" (v. 4). 122 • Our Unmet Needs Jesus stayed where He was for two more days, and then He said to His , disciples, "Let us go to Judea again . . . Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up" (vv. 7, 11). The disciples couldn't understand Jesus' reasoning since they knew it was dangerous for them to return to Judea, and they also figured that if Lazarus was sleeping, he was getting better. Jesus finally said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him" (vv. 14-15). Now on the surface it may appear that Jesus was not present or aware of Lazarus in that terrible storm of sickness. In truth, Jesus was very aware of all that was happening to His friend as well as what was happening to Mary and Martha. He knew exactly the full plan and purpose of God in the storm they were experiencing. He knew the moment that Lazarus died. When Jesus arrived in Bethany, He found that Lazarus had been in the tomb four days. Mourners who had filled the house of Martha and Mary were attempting to comfort them. As soon as Martha heard that Jesus had arrived on the scene, she ran out to meet Him, saying, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died" (v. 21). Even Martha, who knew Jesus so well, assumed that Jesus had not been present in their lives. She went on to make a great statement of faith, however, saying, "But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You" (v. 22). She didn't expect that Jesus would be able to ask or receive anything related to Lazarus, but her faith remained in Jesus that He was no less the Healer, Deliverer, and Savior. Martha and Mary might very well have talked to each other prior to Jesus' arrival and said, "Why hasn't Jesus come? Surely He loves us. He has been in our home. We have shared meals with Him, laughed with Him, heard Him teach. He knows how much we love Him, and we know He loves us. So where is He?" Those are the kinds of questions we ask today when we, as Christian believers, experience storms. The real question, however, should be, "What is Your purpose in this, Lord? Why am I slow to see Your presence and to catch a glimpse of Your plan?" Jesus did not respond directly to Martha's statements, but He spoke God's plan to her: "Your brother will rise again" (v. 23). Martha did not understand what He meant. She said, "I know that he will rise again in The Provision of His Presence • 123 the resurrection at the last day" (v. 24). Jesus then said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" (vv. 25-26). Jesus went on to Lazarus's tomb and insisted that the stone be rolled away. He then prayed, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me" (vv. 41-42). He then cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!" (v. 43). And Lazarus came walking out of that tomb, restored to life four days after his death. What was the message of Jesus to Martha and Mary and to all who experienced the evidence of that miracle? It is the simple message that Jesus is. Wherever Jesus is, there one finds the full operation of the fullness of Jesus. We say, "Where were You, Jesus?" or we say, "When Jesus comes . . ." The fact is, Jesus is. God revealed Himself to Moses in precisely this way, saying, "I AM." (See Ex. 3:14.) Jesus is. He is never going to be more your Savior, your Healer, your Deliverer, or your Lord than He is right now. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The fullness of who He is, is with you right now. There is no more of Jesus left to show up. All of Him is present with you. All of Him has been with you. And all of Him will continue to be with you. Jesus declared to Mary and Martha the truth that rings down through the generations to us, "I am the resurrection and the life." When we become aware of the presence of Jesus with us in a storm, we must become aware that Jesus is with us in the fullness of His power to be the resurrection and the life. No matter how battered, bruised, or even dead we may feel inside as the result of our struggle, Jesus is with us to raise us up into newness of life. No matter how exhausted, broken, or devastated we may feel, Jesus is present with us to restore us, heal us, and energize us. He always comes to give us life and to give us life more abundantly (John 10:10). His very presence with us infuses life into our being. WHY NOT AN AWARENESS OF CHRIST JESUS SOONER? Why doesn't Jesus reveal Himself to us sooner than later? Why wait 124 • Our Unmet Needs until the disciples were weary from rowing all night against a contrary wind? Why wait until Lazarus had been in the tomb four days? Because then the disciples were ready to become aware of Jesus. Then Mary and Martha, as well as the disciples, were ready to experience the great miracle that confirmed Jesus as Messiah and gave evidence that Jesus would rise from His own death and be the resurrection for all who believe in Him. The "late" appearing of Jesus was not a lack of Jesus' presence but an appearance of Jesus in such a way and in the fullness of time so that those in need—the disciples, and Mary and Martha—might truly become aware of His presence. If you are not experiencing the full presence of Jesus in your storm or time of trouble, ask the Lord' to show you what is keeping you from experiencing His full and immediate presence. Ask Him to show you what He desires for you to recognize, learn, or experience as part of your having an awareness of His presence. THE SAMARITAN SENT TO YOU It is also important that you ask the Lord to help you recognize every person He sends to help you. Just as the Lord sent a Christian radiologist to help the woman whose story is told earlier in this chapter, so Jesus may send you very precise help in the form of a specific person. Don't miss that messenger of God's love and mercy! Jesus told a story about a person who experienced a severe storm in his life. While on the road that led down to Jericho from Jerusalem, the man was beaten, robbed, and left for dead. Two men passed by without offering assistance to the injured man, and then, Jesus said, a man from Samaria spotted him, stopped, assisted him, and took him to a safe shelter in Jericho where he paid for the injured man's lodging and further medical help. Jesus asked those who heard this story, "Which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?" The people quickly replied, "He who showed mercy on him." Jesus then said, "Go and do likewise." (See Luke 10:30-37.) How many times has Jesus come to you in the form of a good Samaritan—someone who rescued you, ministered to you, cared for you, gave practical assistance to you, and looked out for your best interests? How many times have you been the recipient of someone's unrequested The Provision of His Presence • 125 kindness? Have you seen Jesus at work in that experience or incident? Have you been aware that Jesus is the One who was behind the scenes all the time, ministering to you through that person, very much present in your time of need? One reason you are not aware of Jesus' presence is that you have not asked Jesus just who He is using to bring about God's perfect plan and purpose in your life. It may be a person you never would have suspected. A DIRECT REVELATION OF HIS PRESENCE Many times, Jesus may not even use a person to make you aware of His presence. He may speak to you directly through a vision, through a message that someone preaches to you, or through the Word of God as you read it. I once heard about a minister who was pastoring two small churches, preaching in each church every other Sunday. He was weary from the constant travel and the many needs that he saw in each of his small, rural congregations. He was struggling to do his best and remain encouraged in the Lord. He began to doubt his ability to minister adequately to the people. He walked into his pastor's study on Monday morning and noticed that a Bible lay open on his desk. Thinking that perhaps he had left it open there on Saturday afternoon, he closed it and shelved it. The following Monday, the Bible was again open on his desk. He stopped to read the two pages that were open. Part of what he read was Luke 9:62. "No one, having The words just seemed to leap off the page to put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." He immediately fell to his knees, asking the Lord to forgive liim for doubting the Lord's call on his life and for failing to rely completely on the Lord for the ability to minister to the people. The next Monday morning, the Bible again lay open. The minister had no secretary, and as far as he knew, nobody in the church had a key to his private office. Yet Monday morning after Monday morning, his Bible was open on his desk when he walked into his office. Each Monday, words seemed to leap off the pages to him, encouraging him in his ministry and building him up in his faith. 126 • Our Unmet Needs Finally the preacher asked the Lord to reveal to him who was ministering to him in such a profound way so that he might thank the person. The Lord brought to mind the janitor who cleaned up the church after the Sunday morning service. Sure enough, the man had a key that gave him entrance to all areas of the church, including the pastor's study. The preacher went to call upon the man. He said, "Thank you for leaving the open Bible for me to read each Monday. You'll never know how much the Lord has used these passages of Scripture to help me and to build me up so that I can do the job He has called me to do." The man seemed a little puzzled. "Aren't you the one who has been giving me these verses to read?" the pastor asked. The man replied, "No, sir. Wish I was. But you see, Preacher, I can't read. It seems every time I go into your study, though, there's your Bible lying facedown on the floor. I thought you were dropping it on purpose for me to read. So I picked it up real careful like and laid it on your desk to the open part, thinking maybe you'd make a sermon of what was there so I could get the message from the pulpit, seeing as I couldn't read the pages for myself. And sure enough, it seems like you've been preaching right to me these past couple of months." The preacher never discovered who or what had caused his study Bible to tumble to the floor each week. The cause didn't really matter. What mattered was that the preacher chose to see Jesus in the pages of the Bible that lay open before him, and then to share the Jesus of the Bible with others. He could have dismissed what was happening as coincidence or something very mysterious—not unlike the disciples thinking they were seeing a ghost. Rather, the preacher chose to see Jesus at work. He saw Jesus using an unusual situation in which to reveal Himself and to make the preacher aware of His presence. As you read the Bible, look for Jesus to speak to you directly and intimately with a message that you know is just for you in the midst of your storm. What is Jesus doing in the passage that He brings to your mind or seems to highlight on the pages you are reading in your Bible? Jesus desires to do that same work or to teach you that same lesson in your life, even in the midst of the storm. He is there with you. Receive His comforting presence! The Provision of His Presence • 127 Jesus will show Himself to you. If you are eager to experience His prcscnce, He will enable you to experience Him. He is already present. Ask Him for spiritual eyes to see Him at work, and spiritual ears to hear His words to you. •10 . Facing the Error That Created the Need c - \"I wish I hadn't done that." "I wish I hadn't made that decision." "I wish I hadn't gone there." "I wish I had never agreed to that." "I wish I had never met that person." "I wish I had never touched that." "I wish I had never experienced that." Do you look back over your life and make any of these statements? If so, you very likely have experienced some type of emotional wound, one that may be marked by ongoing regret, guilt, or feelings of shame. Adam and Eve were certainly in a position to say as well, "I wish I had never . . ." Never listened to a lie. Never bought into a lie. Never began to imagine the possibility of sin. Never questioned the goodness of God. Never sought a substitute for a relationship with God. Never yielded to temptation. Never pursued sin. Adam might very well have expressed the responses that are often heard from victims: "I wish I had never been in association with that person . . . I wish I had never given in to that person . . . I wish I had never allowed that person to treat me that way." 129 130 • Our Unmet Needs "I wish I never had" is a good indicator that emotional and spiritual wounding has occurred. It is a statement that also admits the person knew in some way, at some level, that an error was being made against God's perfect plan and God's absolute commandments. "I wish I never had" is a statement that admits, "I willfully acted in error," or "I willfully failed to act and that produced an error." If you can look back over your life and say, "I wish I never had," then I invite you to go to God with that very issue or experience and say to God, "Please forgive me for that mistake. Please heal me of that wound. Please help me never to make that error again. Please give me the courage and boldness to live my life fully trusting You and obeying You." TEMPTATION LEADS TO ERROR Temptation by the enemy of your soul always leads to error, which in turn leads to need. If you trace a need to an error that you have made in the past, you can also trace that error all the way back to a temptation to do evil. What exactly is temptation? It is an enticement to get a legitimate need met apart from God's will or outside God's boundaries. Satan will always begin his temptations by presenting to us something that is a legitimate need in our lives. For example, a person may have a deep feeling of anxiety, frustration, or unrest. Such a person has a need for peace. Satan will hold up that need before a person night and day. His method, however, for meeting that need is not going to be to say to the person, "Now, you turn to God and trust Him." Hardly. Satan is going to whisper, "If you'll only take these pills, you will relax and feel no pain and you will have peace," or "Ifyou'll only have a couple of drinks, you'll feel a lot more peaceful," or "If you could just purchase this particular item, you'll have greater self-esteem and in that you'll be more at peace with yourself." We must recognize that the needs associated with Satan's temptations are legitimate and real. We must not deny the existence of these needs or discount them as being unimportant, illegitimate, or unworthy. Where Satan leads us astray is not in calling our attention to our needs—certainly some of us ought to identify our needs in a straightforward way Facing the Error That Created the Need • 131 and recognize them as needs we should address—but in offering certain methods for meeting our needs. Some people feel guilty for having needs. That is false guilt. Needs are needs. Many are natural by-products of our humanity or our human error. Some are placed into our lives by God so that He might bring about in us a particular refinement or greater strength. Some are needs that are foisted upon us by the circumstances of a fallen world. Needs are legitimate, and all of our needs are worthy of bringing to Christ so that He might meet them. Don't feel guilty for having needs. Guilt arises—and should arise—when we attempt to meet our needs by our manipulation or efforts rather than by trust in God. We err when we turn to Satan's illicit methods to meet legitimate needs. You must make this distinction. The fault lies not in having needs but in attempting to meet them apart from God's plan and purposes. All temptation is an enticement to act independently of God. When we do, we get ourselves into trouble every time. There is never a way that is better than God's way. No way apart from God is a way that leads to satisfaction, fulfillment, or any good benefit. We have not been created so that we can violate the principles of God's plan and still live productive, joyful, and effective lives. UNDERSTANDING HOW TEMPTATION WORKS In Genesis 3, we find perhaps the most famous, compelling, and significant illustration of temptation in the entire Bible. God had placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and He had given them very explicit and absolute instructions about what they were to do there. Nothing was hazy, fuzzy, or questionable about God's instructions. Adam was to give names to every creature that the Lord brought to him. Giving a name to something meant much more than just calling a creature an elephant or a giraffe. To name something, especially in the Bible understanding of "to name," meant to have a complete understanding of that creature and to exert authority over it. Adam's job was to understand creation fully. He was to be fully aware of all of the characteristics and attributes of every creature and to understand how the creatures functioned in relationship with one another. The purpose for all of that was management. Adam had been given a job of 132 • Our Unmet Needs having "dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth" (Gen. 1:26). To have dominion doesn't just mean to be smarter than or to have more power than. It means also to understand, to manage, to control, to maintain, to use. What a tremendous job that was—and is. Man was to be the caretaker of all God's creation, and not only to maintain it as it was given to man, but to use the creatures of the world in order to "subdue" the earth and to replenish it. Eve was created to help Adam fully in that awesome responsibility before God. She was to be one with him in purpose and in flesh. Together, Adam and Eve had the privilege of a walking-and-talking relationship with almighty God, their Creator. They were to undertake thcir great responsibility with God. God had created them for fellowship with Himself. He desired to communicate with Adam and Eve, laugh with them, delight with them in their discovery of His creation, and counsel them in their exploration and use of the work of His hands. Our purpose today on this earth is no different from that ofAdam and Eve. God has given each of us something that lies in front of us to do that is part of His divine command to have dominion over this earth, to subdue evil, and to bring about the fulfillment of His plan and purposes. God has called each of us to Himself so that we might talk with Him and walk with Him in daily intimacy. God has prepared others to walk alongside us for human fellowship and assistance. If anyone ever asks you, "Why am I here? Why did God create me?" I hope yoa have an answer for that person. Perhaps you have asked these questions yourself. The answer at its most basic level is threefold: 1.You were created for an intimate fellowship with God and to have daily communication with Him. 2. You were created to overcome evil and establish God's goodness on this earth. You were created to be an agent of good. 3.You were created to have close relationships with others so that you might have companionship, friendship, and assistance as you praise and worship God and do the work God has put before you to do. Apart from these three major purposes on this earth, God may have specific things for you to do that are directly related to your specific talents, abilities, capacities, propensities, capabilities, and dreams. Every Facing the Error That Created the Need • 133 person has been given one or more talents to use in the fulfillment of his purpose in life. But we are to use these talents within the confines of our greater purpose. We are to use our talents to praise and worship God, to establish God's dominion on this earth through the subduing of evil, and to help others as they praise and worship God or take dominion over the creatures of this earth. In addition to talents, Adam and Eve were given resources. God made total provision for the external needs of Adam and Eve. He gave them "every green herb for food" and a continual supply of fresh air and fresh ,water (Gen. 1:30). God had created literally thousands upon thousands of good food sources for Adam and Eve, and He had given them water in abundance—four rivers flowed from the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:10-14)! All they needed was provided for them in ample supply so that they might fulfill their God-given purpose on the earth. Furthermore, God gave Adam and Eve access to Himself. He was present with them daily. For example, Adam and Eve heard the sound of the Lord walking in the Garden in the cool of the day (Gen. 3:8). It was not an unexpected or unanticipated visit by God to the Garden. It was a part of His routine with Adam and Eve. He had fellowship with them every evening; they talked things over and enjoyed one another in close friendship. You may recall that throughout the creation story we read, "The evening and the morning were the first day . . . , the evening and the morning were the second day . . . , the evening and the morning were the third day," and so forth. From the Bible's standpoint, a new day begins in the evening. We in the Western world think in terms of a day beginning at sunrise, but in the Bible, a day begins at sunset, with rest and fellowship with God, with planning and anticipating the night and day that lie ahead. When God came to Adam and Eve in the cool of the evening, He was coming to "sit a spell" with