“I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living” Ps 56.14.
I am writing this article for my own meditation of the word of God. Writing makes my reflection more sharp and helps to imprint the word in my mind and heart. Besides I think writing. I share it with others so that if what helps me can help others too, I would feel blessed.
“In the land of the living” is a Hebrew way of saying living the present moment here and now contrasted to the “land of the dead”, that is when I am finished with this life. “Walk” indicates not only the locomotion of going from here to there but living this day. When I can call to mind what Paul told the Athenians (Acts 17.28) regarding God: “In Him we live, move and have our being” is living in the awareness that God is with me and is the witness to all what I think, desire, speak, act, and feel (Ps 139.2. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar….7. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8. If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.) There is no place I can go to to hide from Him (cf. Ps 139.11. If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," 12. even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.)
I can either think of his presence as that of a police man who monitors all what I do via his radar or hidden cameras or by a computer chip implanted under my skin that tracks me where I go and what I do. It is undue interference in my life which I would rather not have. It is an assault on my person hood and liberty. He is not interested in what good I do. He is watching me do anything against the law to restrain me, to punish me.
I can also think of being in God’s presence as of being in the presence of my darling Papa who loves me, who delights in me (“the Lord delights in you” Is 63.4), who dotes on me. He watches me to enjoy my being his child, to see his image in me (cf.Gen 1.27). He loves to watch me with pride seeing me make even a little progress in growing up. His presence (his name is “Immanuel, God with us” (Mt1.23, cf Is 7.14) encourages me to love him and avoid anything that would hurt even slightly his fatherly heart. I feel secure and protected in his presence knowing that with him around, nothing can harm me. “The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want”(Ps 23.1). When I do something good or honest, I can see him smile and approve with pleasure what I do. This thrills my heart. I am sure that it thrills his heart too. If in my weakness I stray away from him, I know he will guide me back to his embrace (cf Lk 15.5, 9,20). I am sure that if I were to live like this every day of my life, I would indeed be in the land of the living both now and in the land of eternal living. So, I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living all the days of my life. Amen.
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