God's Presence

[GracePeace]

It's not that I've changed my mind about "Faith Alone", but I've experienced God's Presence when I've considered that I'm already in right standing by faith alone, because of God's mercy, and I believe that apart from Him I can do nothing, but, with Him, things are so different, but I fluctuate in and out of the type of mindset whereby I can experience the Presence. I guess I keep going back to thinking it depends on me and what I do. My mind is so tricky. So quickly I fall from that grace. So quickly I go back to thinking it depends on me, and then I don't have the Presence. Please just pray for me to continue in the Presence, and to be able to share how to get that Presence, because there is nothing better in life. I want to be able to understand from Scripture, as well, how this works, so I can have solid ground to stand on.

 

[Debp]

It's not that I've changed my mind about "Faith Alone", but I've experienced God's Presence when I've considered that I'm already in right standing by faith alone, because of God's mercy, and I believe that apart from Him I can do nothing, but, with Him, things are so different, but I fluctuate in and out of the type of mindset whereby I can experience the Presence. I guess I keep going back to thinking it depends on me and what I do. My mind is so tricky. So quickly I fall from that grace. So quickly I go back to thinking it depends on me, and then I don't have the Presence. Please just pray for me to continue in the Presence, and to be able to share how to get that Presence, because there is nothing better in life. I want to be able to understand from Scripture, as well, how this works, so I can have solid ground to stand on.

Praying for you. But please remember our Christian life doesn't depend on feelings. If you depend on feelings you will have an up and down Christian life. Feelings can fluctuate because we are human.

 

[GracePeace]

Praying for you. But please remember our Christian life doesn't depend on feelings. If you depend on feelings you will have an up and down Christian life. Feelings can fluctuate because we are human.

It can't be a coincidence, though, that it was only when I believed the right thing, that He granted me to rejoice in His Presence, right?

 

[Debp]

It can't be a coincidence, though, that it was only when I believed the right thing, that He granted me to rejoice in His Presence, right?

If you go into a works oriented religion, you can become a joyless Christian. Because you are trying to hold on to your salvation by doing that. Instead read the Word, walk in the Spirit as to what the Word teaches you...the works should flow as a result of your faith.

 

[MostlyConfused]

It's not that I've changed my mind about "Faith Alone", but I've experienced God's Presence when I've considered that I'm already in right standing by faith alone, because of God's mercy, and I believe that apart from Him I can do nothing, but, with Him, things are so different, but I fluctuate in and out of the type of mindset whereby I can experience the Presence. I guess I keep going back to thinking it depends on me and what I do. My mind is so tricky. So quickly I fall from that grace. So quickly I go back to thinking it depends on me, and then I don't have the Presence. Please just pray for me to continue in the Presence, and to be able to share how to get that Presence, because there is nothing better in life. I want to be able to understand from Scripture, as well, how this works, so I can have solid ground to stand on.

That Presence is great peace. It's a gift. Fenelon says it's sort of like He works on our will so that we begin only to will what He wills and part of that is surrender to whatever He decides to bring to us in the moment, whether it's to remain in His peace for awhile or whether it's a dry crust of not sensing that Presence and peace if His will is that we don't and we have to go only on the trust of a simple child without sensing, feeling, seeing or having that comfort. He sort of conveys that to become distraught over not being bathed in that peace is akin to seeking Him for His gifts/the fish &loaves rather than simply accepting whatever He sees fit in every moment in complete trust and dependence. He wants to get us to a place where we just trust He is working & by providence is guiding and just sort of keep our hands and our worrying and agitated mind off it all. To not worry about our poverty and weakness but to accept it and to just hand it to Him to see to. Fenelon would say you are right to think it doesn't depend on you and that the moment you start to worry it does, you are not having the obedience of trust. I've probably mangled Fenelon by my own understanding of what he says.

 

[MostlyConfused]

It can't be a coincidence, though, that it was only when I believed the right thing, that He granted me to rejoice in His Presence, right?

I think the right thing you believed was that you could do nothing concerning this. That is to realize your poverty and need. That's the mindset you go in and out of and boy do I deeply understand what you are saying about that. When you realize you have become agitated about what you are not doing right or become pleased that you did do something right you are in the one case leaving simple trust and in the other in danger of a pride that thinks you have done what, in fact, He has done. you are supposed to just turn to Him in complete dependence again if you wander off in either of those, whether the agitation or the being pleased.

 

[MostlyConfused]

It can't be a coincidence, though, that it was only when I believed the right thing, that He granted me to rejoice in His Presence, right?

I woke thinking about this, about you. In your first post you talk about the mindset you keep going in and out of where you understand you can do nothing but then get yanked out of that mindset, (that general humble and loving attitude before Him that is the state of prayer, whether you yet know it or not).
And in this post you are wondering at experiencing His Presence and peace because you believed the right thing. It’s not that this isn’t true, it’s that in a very subtle way, this is a danger to you and can please self, which works to strengthen self a bit rather than starve it. I know you know about this because you were talking about how tricky your self is.
Here is a much more accurate way of seeing it that leaves no room for that tricky self. Rather than experiencing His Presence because you believed the right thing, you believed the right thing because He was pleased to give you more light.
Paul spoke of this when he said: I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should.
A scholar would have to look up the original word used for body but I think by “body” he meant his ego/tricky self love that wants to steal away some credit or glory from what is Gods’. He treats that self/ego roughly and does not suffer it to even eat.