12 Presence

From the very beginning, I saw social media as a powerful tool for gospel proclamation and encouragement. Every day I post gospel content on multiple sites and, because I do, I have a rather large following. This means I am regularly trolled, that is, mocked, accused, mischaracterized, disrespected, or dismissed. So I have committed myself to functioning on social media as if I actually believe in the presence, power, and unceasing activity of my Lord. It is a discipline I have had to commit myself to. And because I work to live out of confidence in the Lord’s presence, I commit myself to follow his example.

No human being was disrespected more than Jesus. No one was more harshly questioned or rudely mocked than him. No one suffered more personal injustice than he did. No one had a greater right to rise to his own defense than Jesus did, but he didn’t. He allowed nothing to distract or derail him from his redemptive mission. He came to do his Father’s will, and that was all he was ever going to do. He believed there was a greater and more powerful judgment than the judgment of his listeners or his antagonists, and he believed the Judge was perfect in every way. So he continued to declare who he was and what he had come to do, without answering every charge and taking every opportunity to rise to his own defense. Even in the face of threats he stood resolute. The presence of this one is my daily hope and comfort. His presence keeps me from losing my way, forgetting my calling, and making the mission about me.

Jesus’s example gives me practical direction as the shots come my way. Peter says it like this: “When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly” (1 Pet. 2:23). This passage has been like a protective mentor to me. In this culture of toxic reactivity, I have committed myself to follow the example of this one who is right now present with me. I have committed myself to believe in his perfectly holy justice. I believe if he can’t protect the reputation of those he has called to represent him, then no one can. I will not mock in return when I am mocked. I will not threaten those who have threatened me. I will suffer with character and grace because I know whom I serve. I will remember his presence, I will start each day reminding myself of my identity as his child, I will commit myself to obey his commands and to follow his example, and I will firmly believe there is present blessing and future reward in doing so. I do all of this with peace and rest of heart because I know my Lord is holy and good. These commitments are not always easy for me. I do get angry. I do at moments wonder what my Lord is doing. I am tempted to fire back at someone who has shot at me, and I am capable of being hurt. But I have also tasted the blessing of not making the offenses against me the most motivating factors in my life. I run to this passage every day:

You keep him in perfect peace

whose mind is stayed on you,

because he trusts in you. (Isa. 26:3)

I get up every morning not striving to justify my words to my accusers but striving to trust in my Lord. The former will never result in perfect peace of heart, but the latter will give you peace, calm, and rest of heart you can find no other way.

I want to end this book thinking about what it practically means to act, react, and respond out of a deep belief in the presence, power, goodness, holiness, justice, and mercy of the Lord.

If I am resting in his presence:

I will always speak in a way that gives grace to the hearer (Eph. 4:29). I can always speak words of grace because I believe in a God of grace, whose grace is the most powerful force of personal heart and life transformation in the universe. Because he exists, rules every situation I am in, empowers me to do what he has called me to do, and has the power to accomplish what I could never accomplish on my own, I don’t have to force change that I have no power to create. Resting in the presence and power of the Redeemer means I don’t have to try, by the power of my words, the force of my personality, the size of my anger, or whatever else, to do the work in the hearts of others that only he can do. Do your words always give grace?

I will not let the sun go down on my anger (Eph. 4:26). When the comment line turns dark, when judgments fly or accusations abound, I am comforted by the fact that there is a righteous Judge on the throne of the universe. He will always do what is right in the face of wrong. He is the only truly holy and wise dispenser of vengeance. It is a grace that I am able to stand aside and not get in the way of his perfectly righteous anger. He is the ultimate defender of his children and his truth. So at the end of the day, in an act of faith, I surrender my anger to him and rest in peace, knowing that my life, my ministry, and my world are in the best hands. Do you carry your anger or submit it to him?

I will submit to God’s kingship, not try to build a kingdom of my own (Matt. 6:33). My citizenship in the kingdom of God means I am freed from using my personal relationships and my social media accounts to build my own kingdom. Because I have been chosen to be an ambassador of the King, I am freed from the burden of trying to be the king. I am no longer working to build my “brand,” to collect followers, to be prominent, or to wield power. I do want to be an influencer—not to drive people to me but to introduce them to my Savior King. Only when I love the King and his kingdom will I properly love others and be freed from seducing them into submitting to my kingdom intentions. I serve a victorious, present, and reigning King, and that changes everything. In all your reactions, whose kingdom are you seeking to build?

I will believe that as a child of God I have the power to resist the devil (James 4:7). Not because I have independent spiritual insight or power, but because God is in me, with me, and for me do I have power to say no to the myriad temptations that this reactive culture puts before me every day. There are posts that make me mad, hurt me, or falsely accuse me and, when they do, it is tempting to jump into the toxic pool of reactivity and let it rip in my own defense. But I am not reliant on my own power because I serve the one who has defeated Satan. So I can resist him too. I really am able to love my enemies, I actually can do good to those who mistreat me, and I have the power, when threatened, not to threaten in return. I can resist the temptation to respond to sin with sin, because the one who conquered sin has made me the temple where he dwells. Are you exercising the power that is yours to resist the temptations of this reactive culture?

I will commit to not think of myself more highly than I ought to think (Rom. 12:3). Nothing is more humbling than standing before the holiness, infinite power, perfect wisdom, spotless love, and faithful grace of the King of kings. You and I will only ever see ourselves accurately when we look at ourselves through the lens of his incalculable glory. Not thinking of yourself more highly than you ought to think is much, much more than working to be humble. It is being humbled by opening your eyes to all that God is and all that you are not. You live, with open eyes and an open heart, in the shadow of the majesty of the Lord Almighty. His ever-present glory crushes the human arrogance that causes us to be more concerned about our rights, reputation, power, recognition, and position than it does about his holy honor. In your responses, whose honor, glory, and position are you seeking to defend?

I will live within my God-designed limits (Rom. 12:3). I am not frustrated by my limits because I really do believe that God is present with me, actively delivering to me everything I need in order to be what he has chosen me to be and to do the things he has called me to do and in the way he has chosen me to do them. Why would you ever be discouraged by your limits when God hasn’t left you to your little bag of resources, but is constantly supplying you with things that you would never have without the generosity of his presence and grace? So, I am freed from trying to do what I have no power to do. I am freed from asking the harshness of my words or the threat of my dismissal or the force of my anger or the power of my tribe to do what only God, in his infinite power and amazing grace, can do. In your reactions, do you step outside your limits, trying to create in others what you have no power to create?

I will remember that my world is not out of control (Acts 17:22–34). I love the apostle Paul’s response to the Athenian philosophers, as he defined for them the God they thought they could not know. He talks of God’s control, saying that God determines the exact length of our lives and the exact places where we live (17:26). But then he says something that is hugely comforting. Paul says that God does this so that he will be near to each one of us so that, at any moment, we can reach out and touch him (17:27). God is not just sovereign over everything; he is sovereignly present. His sovereignty guarantees his presence and his presence guarantees that our worlds are never out of control. If I believe in his presence and rule, then I am freed from reacting out of panic, out of the need for control, or as a play for power of my own. Life is not about gaining as much power and control as you can, but rather about resting in the one who has unstoppable power over everything in heaven and on earth. Does the way I react to others demonstrate the wisdom, power, and presence of the one who holds all things under his control?

As I was working on this final chapter of this book, I was talking with Luella, my partner in everything, about the beauty of living with a recognition of the presence of the Lord, and she said, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10). As she walked away, I grabbed my phone and googled Psalm 46. I called her back and told her that she had given me the ending for this book. She responded, “I was just praying that God would give you just the right ending.” Yes, he is present. He does care. He does answer prayer. He does supply what we need. He is good, gracious, and generous. His holiness never contradicts his love. His power never crushes his tender grace. In one moment on one morning, Luella and I learned again that he is with us in tenderly responsive grace.

So we end with Psalm 46. The worldview of this psalm is the backdrop for everything in this book. In a world of chaos, with people raging, we do not need to fear for one reason and one reason alone: God is God. Take time to luxuriate in this wonderful psalm. Give it time not just to inform you but more importantly to transform you. You see, being still and remembering that God is God is not about denying the troubling realities of the fallen world that you live in. These realities are graphically depicted throughout this psalm. No, being still and knowing that God is God is about what controls your conscious and not-so conscious meditation. Rather than spending so much time going from site to site tracing how messed up people and your world are, perhaps it would be better to invest more time bathing your soul in the invigorating waters of the glory of God. And as you do that, remind yourself that all that God is, he is for you, by grace.

God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,

though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam,

though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

the holy habitation of the Most High.

God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;

God will help her when morning dawns.

The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;

he utters his voice, the earth melts.

The Lord of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Come, behold the works of the Lord,

how he has brought desolations on the earth.

He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;

he burns the chariots with fire.

“Be still, and know that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!”

The Lord of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah (Ps. 46)

Perhaps radical change would take place in the often toxic environment of the Christian community and of the world of Christian social media if all of us, responding to the call of Psalm 46, spent much more time being still.

↑ Back to top