Page 13 - Evidence of Things Unseen

Discerning God’s Presence

n order to enter into a walk of faith that pleases God the saint must not only develop a
Ipersonal fellowship with God, but they must come to discern His presence with them.
While I was still in my twenties I preached a sermon that used the following quote by J.
Oswald Chambers to describe the main theme of the message.

“The deadliest form of Pharisaism today is not hypocrisy, but unconscious reality.”

When I first read these words, I understood immediately what they meant. A great
majority of Christians walk around oblivious to the presence of God in their lives. They look
at the circumstances of their lives as mere coincidence and happenstance. They do not
perceive the presence of God, and, because of this failure to perceive His presence, they
respond to the events of their lives with human reasoning and carnal strength.
I have always loved the histories recorded for us in the Old Testament. The lives of
David, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph and many others have been precious to me, for they are
related in such a way that we cannot fail to discern that God ordered their every step, and
that He was always present and working in their lives. When I would read about David and
his anointing by Samuel, his victory over Goliath, and his initial acceptance into Saul’s
house, the evidence is clear that God was ordering his steps. When I read of Saul’s jealousy
and persecution of David, and David’s many trials in wilderness places, it cannot be denied
that God determined that he should endure these things. What is more, David recognized
that God was present with him in all of his trials and victories.
At some point in my life the thought occurred to me, “If God was so present in David’s
life, and in the life of the other persons whose histories are recorded for us, then why would
I think that God is not just as present in my life and the lives of His born again children?”
The Spirit brought a strong conviction to me that God was certainly just as present in my
life as He was in the life of the son of Jesse. He was ordering my steps to the same degree
that he ordered David’s. The circumstances of my life were not mere coincidences, nor the
work of chance, anymore than were the events in the life of King David.
Yet as I looked around me I could see that there were almost no Christians who shared
this same mindset. They nearly all lived as if God was somewhere far removed from their
lives. They were trapped in this deadliest form of Pharisaism that J. Oswald Chambers
described as “unconscious reality.” God would be working right in front of them and they
would not perceive His presence. The result was seen in lives that were devoid of faith,
which were marked by unbelief and a reliance upon the ability of man to accomplish all
things and to deliver from all trials. Like the Israelites in the wilderness, the saints seemed
to cry out, "Is the LORD among us, or not?" The apparent answer was that they believed He
was not among them.
This unbelief is expressed in a multitude of ways. When the saints would get sick they
would run to the doctors and hospitals before they would consult with God. There was no
waiting before Him to discern His will for them. By their actions they demonstrated that
they believed man was more present and able to help them than God. When a pressing
financial need would arise they would pull out the credit card, or go to the bank for a loan.
They would not get on their knees before God and seek His provision for them in the
matter. They preferred to lean upon the arm of flesh, for man was much more tangible to