Building God-Consciousness

By Tosin Lawal

Devotional Reading: The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. Genesis 39:2-4NIV

I once asked myself how a person can ascertain with all confidence that God is with him or not, for I have observed the implications of the Bible asserting that God is with (or not with) a man.

The Bible says that the patriarchs (Joseph’s brothers) became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt, but God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles. The Lord blessed the household of Potiphar because of the presence of Joseph. God gave Joseph favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and his whole household.

Joseph became a successful man in a foreign land despite the hatred. The Bible also spoke of Jehoshaphat that the Lord was with him so much more that He established the kingdom in his hands. Because the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, God’s terror came upon his potential enemies that they couldn’t attack or fight against him. He had peace.

When God is with a man, peace is guaranteed. When God is with a man, success is inevitable. When God is with a man, such a man can never become a victim of circumstance. Even if he did, the Lord would rescue him. When God is with a man, deliverance from all sorts of troubles is certain.

I want God to be with me at all times, especially as I have understood that you cannot successfully live life and become all that God wants you to be without God. The devil, our adversary, is always working to ensure that we don’t become God’s best on earth. He’s always working to see that we don’t enjoy life on earth.

Reading through the Old Testament books and the New Testament books seems to give one a different understanding of what it takes for God to be with a man. The spirit of the Lord once came upon Azariah son of Oded who went to tell Asa, the king of Judah that “The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, You will find him, but if you abandon Him, He will abandon you.” (2 Chronicles 15:1-2). The nation of Israel and Judah can boast of God’s presence as much as they live in total obedience to his instructions.

Anytime they disobey God, they often become vulnerable to the enemy’s attack. There was a time they were being presumptuous and carried the ark into the Philistine camp, yet the presence of the ark changed nothing. They were whipped faced down.

However, the New Testament writings which were premised upon the atoning death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, gave us another understanding of God’s presence.

Because of the finished work of Christ, every believer has become a temple of God. God lives in us. None of those that lived during the Old Testament days could boast of this. It was not even possible. And when God lives in us, we can rightly assert that God is with us, with implications that far outweigh the realities of God being with a person in the Old Testament days.

It is not a matter of feelings. It is a reality that must be believed. God indwells you because you have obeyed the gospel, accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and saviour. It is a miracle. That indwelling presence of God will now continue to teach you to live a life of obedience indeed to Jesus Christ, your Lord and saviour.

How conscious are you of this reality? You may not enjoy the blessedness of God indwelling you if you don’t live your life with the consciousness that God is in you. When God is in you, then He is with you. No amount of evil should scare life out of you.

When God is with you, success is certain, protection is certain, and safety is certain.

Prayer and Confession
God, I agree with your word that you are in me, with me and for me always. I am secured in your arms.

Further readings: Acts 7: 9-16, Genesis 39:1-23, 2 Chronicles 17: 3-6
Reading The Prophets: Isaiah 11-16