We, as Christians, daughters of the King, live our lives as God’s messengers, here in our local setting.
As I have re-read the Christmas story in the book of Luke, I noticed what Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of what you’re saying? How can I believe you?”
And the angel replied, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.”
Those words were life changing. World changing, actually. The angels’ authority rested in the fact that he was typically found in the presence of God. Could it be that the messenger was right-on in his message because he had spent time in the presence of God? We can’t be so arrogant that we think we carry the true, authentic message of God, if we have not been in His presence. It’s the same feeling I get when I read the story of Jesus’ disciples in Acts 4, after Jesus had been crucified, the men of the Sanhedrin called in Peter and John, in verse 13 it says,
“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”
These guys could tell that Peter and John had been with Jesus. Near him. Communicating with Him.
Rick Warren says the best way to keep growing is to pass on what you’ve learned. When we live in Christian community, we are fortunate enough to be able to be reminded to do this, almost on a daily basis. The truth is, we are all called to be His messengers. We strive to live our purpose, and to teach others to do the same.
Delivering a message after being in the presence of God seemed to be effective. It seemed to be delivered with great confidence. With less fear and with more purpose. So it caused me to stop and think. In this busy season, none of us want any of our efforts to be wasted, there’s too much to do. So if we want the message of our words to be powerful, effective, confident, and purposeful, we need to make sure to spend time in God’s presence first.
I think everyone enjoys something different about being in God’s presence. In 1 Kings, Elijah truly wanted to be in God’s presence. He looked for God in the noise. He looked in the rock splitting, ground rattling earthquake. He looked for God’s presence in the roaring fire. But where He found God’s presence was in the gentle whisper.
You can’t always predict where His presence will be found, so you have to be open to His presence all the time. Will it be in your morning devotion? Will it be in driving to work? Will it be in watching the kids play on the schoolyard? Will it be in the loud noise of our worship on Sunday morning? Or will it be in a quiet moment of reflection at home before you close your eyes for the night?
You are God’s chosen messenger in this time, in this place. So today, I just wanted to encourage you to spend time in God’s presence so you can be the most effective messenger you can be.
And in the end, my prayer for you in this busy Christmas season is found in Proverbs 11:25 (The Message) “The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped.”
