Spiritual Receptivity
The Difference Between God's Presence and Manifestation
When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.” (Genesis 28:16-17)
Generation on fire, I greet you in the name of Christ, our omnipresent King and Lord.
One of the most pressing issues facing the body of Christ today is that our foundational belief in the risen Christ often runs contrary to our thoughts and practices. Strong believers sometimes express frustrations about not hearing from God or not feeling His presence in this modern age. But we know that God is unchanging and has, from the beginning of time, spoken and continues speaking to His creation. The issue, then, must be that we are unaware that God is here, and we do not hear His continuous speech. This is a far cry from David, who, in his distress, wrote: “Where can I go from your Spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?” and then proceeded to paint a beautiful picture of God’s inescapable presence. “If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast” (Psalm 139:7-10). Even after his fall into sin, Adam was keenly aware of God’s immediate presence and futilely attempted to hide from Him.
Jacob’s realization in the wilderness after waking from his sleep gives the answer we are looking for. “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it” points to two things—the presence of God and the manifestation of the presence of God. God is here, and we remain unaware. He speaks, but our ears are not tuned in. “Am I only a God nearby,” declares the LORD, “and not a God far away? Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” declares the LORD. In Jeremiah 23:23-24, God Himself tells us of His omnipresence. Jacob’s realization that God is indeed here is the manifestation of God’s presence and represents a different level of intimacy. A.W. Tozer gives a perfect analogy for the difference between presence and manifestation when he writes: “To speak of being near to or far from God is to use language that is always understood when applied to our ordinary human relationships. A man may say, ‘I feel that my son is coming nearer to me as he gets older,’ and yet that son has lived by his father’s side since he was born and has never been away from home for more than a day or so in his entire life.” For many believers, this is eerily familiar: we know of the presence of God, and in fact, we subscribe to God’s omnipresence at the rudimentary level of our faith, but in practice, we remain wholly unaware of God in us and amongst us.
For manifestation to take place, that is, for us to taste honey rather than have honey merely described to us, we must surrender to the Holy Spirit. We must practice radical obedience and set ourselves apart so that Christ may work in us, transforming us from being Christians in name only to being faithful followers characterized by God’s manifest presence, power, and glory. When considering the Bible as a whole, one may wonder why God manifests His presence to some and not others. We can all agree that God’s will for His children to know and worship Him is universal, yet the results at the individual level are vastly different from one another. This must mean that the difference in outcomes lies with us, not with God. Think of the prophets of old, the apostles of the New Testament, and even the teachers and leaders of spiritual movements and revivals in the last few centuries. Each was as different as day and night. Paul was remarkably different from Peter, Moses from David, and Martin Luther from John Calvin. Their differences cut across race, nationality, education, temperament, and other qualities. Yet they all experienced real and sustained manifestations of the presence of God. A.W. Tozer suggests that their differences must have been incidental and, in the eyes of God, of no significance. Rather, they shared a common trait: spiritual receptivity. They broke into the conscious awareness of God and hungered to remain there for the rest of their lives.
Across the ages, men and women who have experienced real revival and become vessels of honor unto God first obtained spiritual awareness and then painstakingly cultivated it until it became their singular focus. They differed from the average believer in that, when they felt a pull toward God and experienced a hunger for righteousness, they did something about it. They acquired a lifelong habit of spiritual receptivity and radical obedience. In the words of David: “When You said, ‘Seek My face [in prayer, require My presence as your greatest need],’ my heart said to You, ‘Your face, O LORD, I will seek [on the authority of Your word]’” (Psalm 27:8). Spiritual receptivity is to long for the deep things of God through the Holy Spirit. It is a talent and a gift from God that every believer is endowed with and has the option to cultivate or abandon. Unfortunately, many of us knowingly or unknowingly choose to forfeit this through our actions and business-as-usual relationship with God. We read our brief devotionals, say the shortest of prayers (if we say any at all), hoping to draw near to God. Perhaps we even serve in the house of God, believing that proximity equals intimacy, while not getting any closer to the real, tangible manifestation of God’s presence and revival in our lives. God wants this to change; He is eager to manifest His presence and confer upon us His radiant glory.
As we eagerly draw near to God and seek His manifestation, we must be aware of the pitfalls of human-conjured manifestations of God. We may look to some forms of manifestation as highly desired and others less so, but from every biblical indication, God uniquely manifests in each of us according to His will and for the profit of the body of Christ. Watchman Nee nails this concept when he writes, “God looks for subjectivity.” He is looking to manifest in a distinct way to each individual, and our own fallible thoughts of God’s manifestation present a real obstacle to God’s intended manifestation. Looking at the gospel, God manifested to the apostles and disciples in many different ways. To some, the grace of God was the central theme of God’s manifestation; to others, it was holiness and righteousness, and to others still, it was love and charity. But to everyone, it was everything, so that the body of Christ would be built up in all knowledge and understanding. Let us begin to ask God to manifest His presence in our lives in His unique and intended way.
Prayer
Lord,
Surely, You are with me at all times, and so often, I am unaware of Your presence. Just as Jacob exclaimed, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven,” I too want to recognize and experience the awe of Your presence in my life. Open my eyes to see You, Lord, and let my heart be aware of You in every moment.
As David said, “Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there.” I thank You for Your inescapable presence, that no matter where I go, Your hand will guide me, and Your right hand will hold me fast. I invite You, Lord, to make Your presence known in my life in the unique and intended way that You desire.
I ask that You manifest Your presence in a way that is specific to me, according to Your will, that I might experience Your guidance, peace, and power like never before. Help me to stay spiritually receptive and aware of Your nearness, that I may walk in the fullness of Your glory each day.
In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
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