The Joy of God’s Presence

In the Psalms, King David gives us a peek into his relationship with God with the words, “In thy presence is fullness of joy.” Franklin, at the funeral of his father, Billy Graham, recalled, “The last few years of my mother’s life, my mother was sick in bed, and she would lie in bed on her side and my father would come in and he would sit beside her, and the two of them would look at each other. Just look at each other – I mean, eye-to-eye – for hours.”

There are times we need to sit in God’s presence and look into His eyes. When life is a tangled mess, when sorrow’s shroud envelops you, or when your body is broken, these are the times you need to take time and sit in God’s presence and gaze into His eyes. For it is in this quiet presence and love that joy is found.

Circumstances may not change. We will still be facing divorce, prodigal children, death of loved ones, cancer, or other heartaches, but there is joy in knowing the depth of God’s love for us. To see our pain reflected in our Heavenly Father’s eyes. To know He is walking each painful step with us.

This, dear ones, is the joy and happiness we find in God’s presence. It’s a daily walk, we must pledge, “I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken” (Psalm 16:8). So wash your dishes, do your laundry, go to work, love your children; weep, laugh, and sing, with your heart always looking in God’s eyes, and sitting in His presence. This heart joy can be yours.