Focusing on the Presence of Jesus

by Bruce Hebel

“Deep calls to deep at the sound of your waterfalls. 

All your breakers and your waves have rolled over me.”

Psalm 42:7

As I have grown older, I am finding that the most significant growth doesn’t come when God teaches me new things, but rather when He deepens my understanding of things He has already taught me. He often does it when I least expect it.

This year I have set a personal goal to read more books, including some new ones and some I have read before. I recently re-read “Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret,” a biography written by Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor, the late missionary’s son and daughter-in-law. Hudson Taylor (1832-1905) was the founder of the China Inland Mission. I think it is safe to say that all the ministry in China today can be traced to the pioneering faith investment of Hudson Taylor. His is an incredible story.

The first 13 chapters of the book tell the story of an extraordinary man who God called to take the Gospel to the people of China. It was an interesting read but felt sort of “matter of fact” and historical. Fascinating but not inspiring, at least for me. Just being real here! But that all changed when I got to chapter 14 entitled “The Exchanged Life” which, from Hudson Taylor’s own perspective, marks the most transformational realization in his Christian life. “God has made me a new man.” I have been teaching on the exchanged life for decades and it’s central to our core belief system, but this chapter took me to a whole other level in my understanding of it.

There are two quotes early in the chapter that were back to back “Aha” moments for me. They are from an unattributed book entitled “Christ Is All” referenced in a letter sent To Dr. Taylor by John McCarthy, but they are clearly inspired by the Holy Spirit. The first one is this: 

“The Lord Jesus received is holiness begun; the Lord Jesus cherished is holiness advanced; the Lord Jesus counted on as never absent would be holiness complete.” 

Wow! In other words, holiness is not a work that we do or something we can personally attain, it is the natural result of the presence of Jesus recognized and acknowledged. God’s holiness is a part of His essence. Our holiness is an act of His Grace as we recognize his constant presence.

The second quote is equally powerful.

“He is most holy who has most of Christ within, and joys most fully in the finished work. It is defective faith which clogs the feet and causes many a fall.” 

Defective faith is the root of all sin in a believer’s life.  What a powerful realization! Our greatest problem is not doing more or even knowing more. Our greatest problem is believing more. Our lives are transformed when we recognize - and truly believe - that Jesus is eternally present in and with us. In response to the second quote, Taylor said this, 

“How then to have our faith increased? Only by thinking of all that Jesus is and all He is for us; His life, His death, His work, He Himself as revealed to us in the Word, to be subject of our constant thoughts. Not striving to have faith… but a looking off to the Faithful One seems all we need; a resting in the Loved One entirely, for time and eternity.” (page 156)

That’s it? Yes, that’s it! Don’t we have to do something? No, we have to believe Someone! Jesus unequivocally declared, “I am with you always, even to the end of the earth.” (Matthew 28:20) He promised to “abide in us” (John 15:1-11) In Him, we have become “the righteousness of God in Christ.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) We have a new identity “in Christ” (Romans 6:1-11) Christ “is our Life” and we will be “revealed with Him in glory”. (Colossians 3:4)

When Christ died on the cross, all we were in Adam died with Him. When He rose from the dead, we were risen with Him. We are now identified in Christ. We are now, by faith, one with Him – eternally! We now have the privilege of Jesus living His life through us.

The key is not our activity, the key is our focus. Andrew Murray said, “When Christ becomes our focus, everything changes.” By focusing on the presence of Jesus, our lives begin to reflect our new and true identity as He lives out in us what He had made us to be. We no longer work for God, God works through us. (Philippians 2:13) This may or may not change our activity level, but it will, however, change our effectiveness and stress level. Taylor later wrote to his sister, “As to work – mine was never so plentiful, so responsible or so difficult, but the weight and strain are all gone.” 

What is interesting about all of this is that Hudson Taylor’s life did not get easier, from a human standpoint after learning this truth. A short time later, his first wife died in the process of delivering a stillborn child. His own health failed as he spent a year paralyzed in bed, and the work on the mission field became more dangerous and challenging.  Yet he later journaled, 

“I am no longer anxious about anything… for He, I know, is able to carry out His will, and His will is mine. It makes no matter where He places me, or how. That is rather for Him to consider than for me; for in the easiest position He must give me grace, and in the most difficult His Grace is sufficient.” (page 165-166)

His grace is always needed and His grace is always sufficient. And, perhaps most importantly, His grace is always present. In those times I find myself stressed, uptight or frustrated, it is an indicator that my faith focus is off and unbelief has crept back on the throne of my life. The solution then is not to buck it up, work harder, or stir up some faith formula. The solution is simply to shift my focus back onto Jesus and on what I know to be true. He is the Faithful one! That’s all I need to know!! 

“Lord, today I choose to rest in your presence, knowing that in those times that I am unfaithful or my faith has become weak, You remain Faithful. Jesus, be my faith today and reveal Yourself to me so clearly that I cannot miss seeing what You are doing in and through me today. Amen.”

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