Personal Meditations on Powerful Texts

"So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase."  (Acts 9:31 NASB)

Why is it that most followers of Jesus only know the presence of Christ intermittently? Many cry out to God in crises, but few seek to live in the atmosphere of God's presence continually.

But there are a few. And to be around them is almost always to encounter God. Their lives radiate the supernatural fragrance of Christ, who is walking with them everywhere. When they listen, you feel as if they are peering into your soul like God Himself. When they talk, God-initiated words seem to wash over you. There is an economy of motion in their lives. Things are accomplished in divine timing and power. They seem to be walled about with peace.

We can mark this off as some unique gift—that God has chosen some above others—and thus excuse ourselves from the search for this hourly intimacy with God. But this is not to be an anomaly; every believer is promised this possibility.

You have everything you need for life and godliness through God's promises and empowering presence, Peter told us (2 Pet. 1:3). Paul said we can do all things through Christ (Phil. 4:13), and that God has "blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (Eph. 1:3).

So why is our experience so far from God's promise?

If you are blessed to know some of these men and women, you will notice something distinct about them. They have deliberate intention toward God all day long. They are communing with Him constantly. About these people, Tozer said,

Many have found the secret of which I speak, and ... constantly practice this habit of inwardly gazing upon God. They know that something inside their hearts sees God. Even when they are compelled to withdraw their conscious attention in order to engage in earthly affairs, there is within them a secret communion always going on. Let their attention but be released for a moment from necessary business, and it flies at once to God again (A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God p. 90).

The difference is a deep humility that understands their spiritual poverty apart from Christ, and an intense focus that turns quickly to the inner room of God's presence. They are "going on" in this. It is sustained. There is a holy jealousy for God's presence, and a seriousness about anything that might abort their communion with Him.

In other words, they fear God. They are cautious about God's presence, lest anything would interrupt the distinct joy they experience with Him. This fear delivers them from looking and acting just like the rest of the world, from a life without God in the equation.

The early church knew this fear of the Lord. They were "going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit," and they "continued to increase." God's presence was theirs, and God's power was visible. Many people were being saved daily. And who can forget the story of Ananias and Sapphira, who were not allowed to lie to the Holy Spirit?

We may laugh at such seriousness, but when was the last time people were "daily added" to your church?


Bill Elliff is the Directional Pastor of The Summit church in N. Little Rock, Arkansas. He is a frequent conference speaker, writer, and consultant to churches, drawing from over 40 years of pastoring and revival ministry.