LOVER OF MY SOUL

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child and give birth to a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel”—which, when translated, means, “God with us.”

Matthew 1:23 AMP

When I surrendered my life to Jesus, I experienced a vision in my room. I saw God place a beautifully wrapped gift on my bed. Excitement filled my heart as I eagerly untied the ribbon and opened the box, only to find it empty. Disappointed, I questioned why God had filled me with anticipation for an empty gift box. But then, the Lord spoke to me, saying, “I have given you the most incredible and exciting gift that surpasses anything in this world. You need new eyes to see this gift because I have given you the Holy Spirit to be with you.” It was a deeply fulfilling moment in my walk with Jesus, realizing that His name is Immanuel. When we accept Him into our hearts, regardless of our past shame and rebellion, He is with us and seals our lives as His own. No matter what we may face in the future, we will never be alone.

This presence is what others experience when we have been saved. The Holy Spirit dwells within us, making our hearts His home. However, it’s important to understand that God is not shallow. We cannot have a surface-level relationship with Him, seeking only His blessings or expecting Him to solve our problems. He resides in the depths of our being. When He speaks, He is not like a multitude shouting on a street corner to deliver a message. He doesn’t speak audibly, appear visibly, or communicate solely through dreams or visions. Instead, He whispers to the depths of our souls, calling from the deep to the deep.

In this chapter, my intention is to help you become more aware of His presence because He is omnipresent. His presence encompasses every place and time, as the Word of God declares:

I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.

Psalms 139:7‭-‬10 NLT

When considering any awareness campaign, the primary goal is to enhance knowledge and comprehension regarding a specific issue, cause, or subject among a targeted audience. These campaigns strive to inform, educate, and engage individuals, ultimately influencing their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Today, I want to convey that God, our Heavenly Father, is extending an invitation to you, urging you to become fully conscious of the presence of His Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit desires to profoundly impact and transform your life in a significant manner. Whether you have been a lifelong Christian struggling with challenges or if you’re unfamiliar with Jesus and simply stumbled upon this message out of curiosity, it is the Holy Spirit who is reaching out to the depths of your heart. If you allow Him, He wishes to remind you once again of His boundless love and power specifically for you. He yearns to manifest something extraordinary in your life, surpassing even your wildest dreams and aspirations.

God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. Glory to God in the church! Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus! Glory down all the generations! Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!

Ephesians 3:20‭-‬21 MSG

I encourage you to watch the following video with an open heart, ready to hear His voice.

To fully appreciate the significance of God’s omnipresence, we must be cautious not to become too familiar with it, as the saying goes, “Familiarity breeds complacency.” Let me illustrate this point by reminding you of a well-known Bible story:

On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus had to pass through Jericho. There lived a very wealthy man named Zacchaeus, who supervised all the tax collectors. He was very eager to see Jesus and kept trying to get a look at him through the massive crowd. Since Zacchaeus was a short man and couldn’t see over the heads of the people, he ran on ahead of everyone and climbed up a blossoming fig tree to get a glimpse of Jesus as he passed by. When Jesus got to that place, he looked up into the tree and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry on down, for I must stay at your house today!” So he scurried down the tree and found himself face-to-face with Jesus. As Jesus left to go with Zacchaeus, many in the crowd complained, “Look at this! Of all the people to have dinner with, he’s going to eat in the house of a crook.” Zacchaeus was amazed over his gracious visit to his home and joyously welcomed Jesus. Zacchaeus stood in front of the Lord and said, “Half of all that I own I will give to the poor. And Lord, if I have cheated anyone, I promise to pay them back four times as much as I stole.” Jesus said to him, “Your repentance shows that today life has come to you and your household, and that you are a true son of Abraham. The Son of Man has come to seek out and to give life to those who are lost.”

Luke 19:1‭-‬10 TPT

The Holy Spirit possesses a unique quality of the Lord’s character, which may occasionally frustrate some. However, this quality is intended to deepen our affection for His presence. The Word of God instructs us to worship Him in spirit and in truth, just as Zacchaeus eagerly sought to see Jesus and went to great lengths, climbing a sycamore tree, to catch a glimpse of Him. Zacchaeus desired to experience the transformative power of Jesus, and his earnestness indicated a desperate desire for change in his life.

Although viewed as unrighteous and undeserving of God’s presence, Zacchaeus displayed a fervent pursuit while those who appeared “righteous” had grown complacent in Jesus’ ways. It is possible to spend a lifetime faithfully serving Jesus while remaining unaware of His presence, which surpasses human understanding. The sovereign God’s ways are higher than ours, and we must recognize this truth. Even if you are dedicated to prayer, meditation, and acts of kindness, it is vital to acknowledge the Holy Spirit’s revelation that you may have become a weary worker in His Kingdom if you don’t experience constant change and growth in your life. Sometimes we may believe we have a strong and deep connection with the Holy Spirit, only to discover that we resemble those indignant and dismissive individuals who reject the “new thing” Jesus was doing when He decided to go and eat in the house of a crook. Take a moment to reflect on the primary challenges faced within the Church and your communities. Consider who we may be unintentionally excluding and disregarding. In today’s world, if Jesus were here, who would he extend a warm invitation to and welcome into his home?

For those who are religious, this new season we are entering may challenge you tremendously, causing you to miss out on a epic revival and the tangible presence of God’s glory, known as His Shekhinah glory. I assure you, living a religious Christian life alone will lead to stagnant faith without substance or vitality. It is time for you to rise up and allow God’s glory and brilliance to be evident in your life. Humble yourself once more and permit God to pursue His interests in you.

So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him make himself scarce. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet.

James 4:7‭-‬10 MSG

When we truly recognize and embrace the presence of God, the world will experience a profound revival that will transform everything. It will change us in ways we can never imagine, just as Zacchaeus, who, upon encountering Jesus, felt convicted in his heart to reconcile with the poor he had exploited. As Mother Teresa wisely stated, if we can go back home and love our families, we have the power to change the world. However, if we can return home and love our families with the same unconditional love that God bestows upon us, it will yield a bountiful harvest of souls for Jesus Christ.

We must guard against becoming too familiar with the Holy Spirit’s presence, for its vastness and wisdom exceed our human limitations. Instead, let us approach the God with deep respect and a humble eagerness to learn, acknowledging that our thoughts are not His thoughts, and our ways are not His ways.

My sincere hope and prayer is that, like Zacchaeus, you will be fully prepared to embrace and be captivated by the presence of the Holy Spirit. There is a sense of urgency in the spiritual realm, as the Word of God urges us to seek Him while He may be found and to pray to Him while He is near.

Seek God while he’s here to be found, pray to him while he’s close at hand. Let the wicked abandon their way of life and the evil their way of thinking. Let them come back to God, who is merciful, come back to our God, who is lavish with forgiveness.

Isaiah 55:6‭-‬7 MSG