The Manifest Presence of God - Part 5
Walter Beuttler

“But let him that glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD which exercise loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth; for in these I delight, says the LORD.”  Jeremiah 9:24

The Lord “delights” in those who know and understand Him.  This speaks of a humble, grateful appreciation.  I can relate to this through an experience with my daughter.

I had just returned from a ministry trip to South America, and I usually brought a special present for my daughter.  Because I had not done so this time, I said to her, “I am so sorry that I do not have something special for you.”  She responded, “Daddy, that's all right, you are my best present and the nicest daddy I ever had.”  This, all the more caused me to want to buy something very special for her.

The Lord desires us to “glory about Him” in simplicity and in gratefulness.  He evidently agrees with the statement, “Joys not shared are only half enjoyed.”  The Lord loves to enter into our joys, and when we glory about Him, His heart is touched, as He has feelings too.

God has an emotional nature, and He expresses emotions.  He has a social nature, and He enjoys our fellowship and rejoices with us, for His Word tells us, “In these things I delight, saith the Lord.”

Some years ago, I attended a Bible Study.  At the end, the pastor asked me to close in prayer.  I was so filled with the “Spirit of rejoicing” that I was unable to pray or dismiss the meeting.  All I could do was shout, “Hallelujah.”  The Spirit of this worship spread over the people and almost everyone began to praise the Lord.

When it again became quiet, there was a prophetic message, which said, “God is pouring out His Spirit of rejoicing upon His people because one who had been a sinner has repented, and there is so much joy in heaven that the Lord is sharing this with His people so that He and they may rejoice together.”

When I was a student in Bible School, I was talking to the Superintendent of the Denomination to which I belonged.  His son came into the room and asked, “What will you do when you leave?”  I had no home, as my family lived in Germany, and could only reply, “I do not know.”  Then he asked what ministry I thought I would have.  Again, I could only say, “I do not know.”

Then he said, “I am glad I am not like you.  I know people at the top, and I will have a big church.”  When he left the room, he slammed the door and it felt like a shot from a gun going through my heart.  It really hurt because I had nowhere to go.  Later, I dropped to my knees and prayed a very simple prayer, “Father, did You hear what he said?”

As I prayed this, in a flash of revelation, the Lord quickened these thoughts to me.  “It is true that he knows people at the top.  But it is also true that I am your Father, and that I am at the top of all those who are at the top.  And, I am your personal superintendent.”  I lifted my hands and said, “Father, thank You for being Who You are.  This day I acknowledge You as my personal superintendent.”  Years later, while in Rio De Janeiro, I was told that this fellow was working as a butcher, and he did not have the big church he thought he would have.

God responds to simple sincerity.  In New Guinea, they know how to touch the heart of the Lord.  In very poor English, they pray, “Oh, Papa God, You nice fellow upstairs.  Me no any good but You nice Papa God.”  The Lord responded to the sincerity of their heart and the simplicity of their prayer.

For example, when I was a youngster in Germany, I had always desired to see the Azore Islands.  I do not know why, but they had captured my boyhood imagination.  Many years later, I had made many trips to Europe, but never by way of the Azores, as only first class passengers were routed this way.  I was to go to Rome, so I laid my itinerary before the Lord.  I felt His witness that I was to go, so I arranged my ticket.

A short time before I left, I noticed in the newspaper that the airlines were routing Tourist Class travel to Europe by way of the Azores.  I thought, how often I have wanted to stop at the Azores and now it is possible.  Yet, I felt that I was in the will of God with the route I had already chosen.  I prayed as I had before.  I said, “Father, did You by any chance read this newspaper article about the Azores?”

Some would say this is foolish, as God knows everything and does not need to read the newspaper to find out.  I know this very well.  But I also know that the Lord hears and responds when I come to Him in this simple, practical way.  This speaks of “relationship,” and of “intimacy.”

I added to my prayer, “Father, I have wanted to go that way for so long, and now I am going the other way.  I just wonder what You think about this.”  The Lord responded, not in words, but a witness as though He were saying, “If you would like to change your route, I have no objections.”  I just knew I had His permission and blessing to change, so I did.

When I returned to the school in the fall, I told the students about this, because I was really pleased.  I thought God was so considerate in allowing me to change my route.  It is amazing what God will do for us.  When we respect His wishes, He will have regard for ours.

As soon as I had finished telling the students about this, a girl gave an utterance in tongues and one of the fellows interpreted it.  The word said, “God is pleased when He sees that He can please His children.  For He loves to please His own and He rejoices in their pleasure.”  When God saw that I was happy, then He was happy.

“But let him that glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me...for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.”  Jeremiah 9:24

One time I was going to Africa, and I looked at the route I would be taking and noticed Thebes on the Nile River in Egypt.  I thought it would be nice to see the ancient ruins of Thebes and the temple of Karnak with its famous columns.  I knew that I had nothing to do there, but as I looked at my map, I received a witness.  The Lord quickened to me that I could stop at Thebes.

It was such a thrill to see the fulfillment of prophecy there.  The plain where this powerful, beautiful city once stood was now just a vast open area.  After I returned home, one of the teachers said to me, “What did you see?”  I said, “There was nothing left on the west side of the Nile where the main part of the city stood.”

He then told me that he had wondered why I wanted to stop there, as he knew I would not see anything.  I responded that I had seen much.  I knew that this was where this great city was located, which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.  God had said that He would remove it from the earth.

What I saw was the tremendous power of Almighty God, the veracity of His Word of Prophecy, that He could obliterate such a huge city.  I saw the might of God in an empty place.

“At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and have revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in Your sight”  Matthew 11:25-26

Notice, that the Lord deliberately withholds some truths from those who are “wise and prudent.”  This is not necessarily those who are educated, or knowledgeable.  Rather, this refers to those who “feel” that they know it all.  The problem with them is that they do not know enough to know that they do not know.  Thus, they are “unteachable.”

The Lord “hides” the precious, special things from these, such as the knowledge of His presence.  The babes to whom He reveals these things are those who are simple, humble, lowly, and willing to learn.  Their spirits are “open” to His manifest presence.

The Word tells us, “No man can come to Me, except the Father which has sent Me draw him” (John 6:44a).  Due to sin, there is no desire for God in the fallen human nature.  Whenever a person has an interest in God, it is due to the “activity” of the Spirit of God.

If God gives us a hunger for Himself, this desire has been produced by the Spirit of God, because that for which we hunger is capable of being attained.  The very hunger that we have for more of God is not only God's call to get us to move in that direction, but it is also the guarantee that we can attain to that for which we hunger - if we will keep following in the direction of the hunger.

The attitude of heart that qualifies us is that we become as a “babe.”  When a baby becomes hungry, it manifests that hunger by crying.  The child cries and is fed by the mother.  The baby does not ask for a chemical analysis of what it is being fed.  There is something within that corresponds to the hunger, and the child just eats.  But if an attempt is made to feed mustard to the baby, he will no longer eat.  There is something there that does not appeal.

So it is spiritually.  The Lord gives us a hunger and we may not know what we are hungry for, except that we have a sense of need and desire something from God.  We may hear a message with truth that we have never heard.  Though we do not understand it, within us, it is as with the baby.  We eat and feel satisfied.  We know this is a work of the Holy Spirit because we feel His witness and we feel good.  We do not know how we know; we just know that we know.

So also, when an attempt is made to feed something to us that is not right, the witness is lacking and it does not set right within.  We know that we should not partake.

Jesus said that except we become as children, we cannot enter the Kingdom.  This is because we are moving beyond our capacity to understand.  Thus the Lord releases the “deeper things,” only where there is this “child-like” faith.

It is only in this child-like faith that we are able to come to the Lord and express our love and appreciation for Him, even as my daughter expressed her appreciation for me, when I returned home without a present for her.