The Presence of God

[missourimary]

Wow, there are a lot of ways to define His Presence:
The love that seems to come from nowhere and warms and thrills me inside out
The joy that wells up in me and makes me want to shout
The quiet hush that sweeps across a troubled soul
The peace that comes during trials and storms
The hope beyond hope when logic says there's none
The deep assurance that He is with me no matter what...
The haze of the Shakina
The humbling knowledge that the Creator fills the air we breathe, and floods our souls...
It's that something that makes me dance when there has been sadness, that makes me laugh when there were tears, that tells me all will be well when nothing seems to be.

Yet it goes beyond that. His presence isn't always felt; sometimes it is just known.
I don't know how the church determines His Presence. There are times that I've stood and watched people shout and not felt a thing. There are other times that I was moved deeply and reassured yet no one else thought the service was remarkable at all. Collectively, we are still individuals feeling His joy, peace, love, hope, etc sweep over us, sometimes in similar ways all at the same time and sometimes uniquely for each of us.