A God-Conscious State of Mind! - "There is a GOD!”
The awesomeness of God impacted the great ones in the Scriptures, and they were conscious of His presence with them! This simple message is to share the Bible's examples of how we must always be conscious of God’s presence in our lives.
At the end of his journey, Moses shared the awesomeness of God with Israel: “O Lord God, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your mighty (strong) hand, for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do anything like Your works and Your mighty deeds” (Deuteronomy 3:24)?
God demonstrated His awesomeness by His mighty power to Israel: “To you, it was shown that you might know that the Lord Himself is God; there is none other besides Him. Out of heaven, He let you hear His voice, that He might instruct you; on earth, He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the midst of the fire. And because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants (seed) after them; and He brought you out of Egypt with His Presence, with His mighty power, driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land as an inheritance, as it is this day. Therefore, know this day, and consider it in your heart, that the Lord Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other” (Deuteronomy 4:35-39).
Joseph As God-Conscious Example!
Joseph was very young, less than 30 years of age, and yet, he was so conscious of God’s presence with Him which helped him avoid the temptation from Potiphar’s wife: “And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on (lifted her eyes toward) Joseph, and she said, ‘Lie with me.’ But he refused and said to his master’s wife, ‘Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?’” (Genesis 39:7-9).
From the time Joseph escaped Potiphar’s home, he was jailed in a dungeon. The Psalmist reports: “Until the time that (God’s) word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him” (Psalm 105:19).
When the time came for his release by divine intervention and was called to help Pharaoh with his dreams, there was no anger, bitterness, sadness, or remorse in Joseph but the consciousness of God’s presence in his life. He credited God, and only God, to be the source of his interpretation of Pharoah’s dreams: “And Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that you can understand a dream, to interpret it.’ So, Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, ‘It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace’” (Genesis 41:15-16).
Pharoah was stunned at the level of wisdom he found in Joseph and appointed him Governor of Egypt! Pharoah witnessed God’s excellence in Joseph filled with God-consciousness!
Rahab, a Prostitute Was Impacted by Consciousness!
God’s consciousness took hold of Rahab, a prostitute, who had her house on the wall of Jericho, and we witness it from her words to the spies that were sent by Joshua to scout out the land: “For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon, and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath” (Joshua 2:10-11).
Rahab and her entire household were spared from the sliding wall of Jericho for it was God-Consciousness that spared her life!
A Zealous Young David Shouted Out, “There is a God in Israel!”
David was not just a shepherd keeping his father, Jesse’s flock of sheep, but was a conscious shepherd under the Lordship of God, and a “sweet psalmist of Israel!” Psalm 23:1: “The Lord is my Shepherd, and I shall not lack anything!”
David was younger than 20 years old at the time when he met with Goliath, and yet, he was burning with zeal for God and His covenant upon God’s Chosen People, Israel. Here are the words of David to Goliath: “This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel” (I Samuel 17:46).
David unconventionally killed the mighty warrior Goliath with a slingshot. We face the challenge every day not to live an isolated life as Christians, or not even as believers living for our blessings but to prove to the world around us that there is a God in heaven, who is our God, our Savior, our King of kings, and the Lord of lords! We meet that challenge only by being God-conscious all the time, in labor, in leisure, during the day and the night, and in every moment of the day.
Prophet Elijah Stood Alone and Apart from His Nation But with GOD!
Twice in his prayer before the fire fell, Elijah repeated, “You are God in Israel,” and “You are the Lord God!” Here was His prayer: “And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, ‘Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel, and I am Your servant and that I have done all these things at Your word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.’ Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench” (I Kings 18:36-38).
A God-conscious and dedicated God’s servant Elijah witnessed God answering his request by sending the fire from heaven upon the altars he built to show Israel that HIS GOD WAS GOD!
A Young Daniel Proclaimed, “There is a God in Heaven!”
We do not have complete knowledge of how impressed King Nebuchadnezzar was with Daniel even before the first recorded milestone of Daniel’s testimony of interpreting the King’s forgotten dream, or else the King would not have named Daniel after his god, “Belteshazzar” (“preserver of ‘my’ life”)! Daniel, a captive, and yet was fully conscious of his God, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, the God of his covenant! Here is the exchange between King Nebuchadnezzar and an incredibly young (not more than 20 years old) Daniel: “The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, ‘Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?’ Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, ‘The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king. But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days’” (Daniel 2:26-28).
There was no bitterness in Daniel’s heart for his isolation from his own country. There was only God-consciousness filling Daniel who prayed toward Jerusalem three times a day. Daniel showed a heathen King who the real God was by revealing his dream that he had forgotten and with the interpretation.
The Powerful Example of Our Lord Jesus!
Jesus’ consciousness of God the Father is very striking! Again, in His weakest moment atop the Mount of Temptation, Jesus replied to Satan with his offers in these words: “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’. It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt (test) the Lord your God.’. ‘Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve’” (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10).
The presence of God the Father in His earthly life was obvious as Jesus referred to the Heavenly Father over 100 times in all the four gospels. Even in the last moments of His life on the cross, Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” His last and yielding words on the cross were, “Father, into Your hands, I commit My spirit!”
This message is quite simple:
· God-consciousness is more than attending a church service here or there and calling it ‘a walk with the Lord!’
· It is more than living 50 % in the world and 50 % in the Kingdom of God!
· It is more than saying to the people in the conversation, ‘I am also a Christian!’
· It is being conscious of and yielding to God in labor and leisure!
· It is being conscious of God’s presence when you are alone with no one watching you!
· It is God you are thinking of in your blessed moments!
· It is God whom you have not forsaken in the worst times of your life!
· It is God-consciousness that keeps you pure in temptations of the enemy!
· It is God and only God, you represent with all your giftings and talents!
· It is God who rules over you in your calling! You are just His servant!
· It is God, and God alone, who receives the glory, honor, and praise in all your achievements!
· You will carry the bold declarations if not vocally, but, in your heart, all the time: ‘There is a God in heaven,’ ‘I belong to Him,’ ‘My God who is with me,’ ‘For me and my house, we will serve the Lord,’ ‘My business belongs to God,’ ‘All that is mine is my God’s!’
· Then, and only then, you will carry the presence of God with you and in your life in all your conversations, in all your activities, and in everything you do now, and always!
Prayer
“Heavenly Father, I love You so much. Thank You, Lord, for saturating me with the awareness of Your holy presence in my life, in my thoughts, in my desires, in my actions, and in all that I do. Create in me a clean heart and renew the right spirit within me. Cast me not away, my Lord, from Your presence, and take not Your Holy Spirit from me. Keep me, please, restored to the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with a willing, and teachable spirit, so that I learn from You and walk with You in each moment of the day. I am Yours, O Lord, by Your sovereign grace that You have extended me. In the Most Precious and Wonderful Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen! Amen!!”
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John Jeyaseelan
Global Prayer Center | prayer | 701 Bill France Boulevard, Daytona Beach, FL, USA
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