Grace Notes // His Presence - Week 4

Written by Keli Miller

From Place to Posture

“Heaven and Earth are only 3 feet apart, but in thin places the distance is even shorter.” 

I loved summer camp. Even still today when I think of “thin places” in my own life, my mind takes me back to a 3 sided barn at the bottom of a hill in Indiana, or a campfire, surrounded by mosquitos and fireflies.  For years, this annual pilgrimage to summer camp served as a “thin place” in my life. Heaven felt close and God felt tangible in this place. There I was experiencing the manifest presence of God. 

God is omnipresent, so even when I wasn’t at camp he was near but I wasn’t yet encountering his manifest presence on my own. As a young Christ follower, place mattered in my walk with God. I had to keep going back to encounter the Lord. We see this also in the Old Testament with the tabernacle. What I had yet to learn, is that in light of the cross, we are now the temple, the place of God’s dwelling. On the cross, Jesus tore the curtain and the Spirit of God was poured out. Now every person has the invitation to not only encounter, but carry, the manifest presence of God.  As we live in light of the cross it becomes less about place and more about posture. 

“Whoever passionately loves me will be passionately loved

 by my Father. And I will passionately love you in return and 

will manifest my life within you.” John 14:21 (TPT)  

Much like our physical posture, the posture of our heart does a great deal of communicating - It tells people when to celebrate, when to come near, or when to steer clear. Our heart’s posture should be one of love before Jesus. We would be kidding ourselves if we think that this is a switch we can just flip in our minds. Our hearts need time and practice and reminders because we are so quick to forget. Practicing a posture towards Jesus can look like incorporating silence, solitude, scripture, and community, into our regular life. Posturing our hearts towards Jesus is an intentional process of turning our attention to the presence of God. 

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

James 4:8  

Processing Questions

What have “thin places” looked like in your life?

What practices can you add or eliminate to posture your heart towards Jesus? 

In The Word

John 15:1-4

1 Corinthians 3:16-17

Psalm 22:3