I watch in amazement sometimes at the things professional athletes are able do with their bodies when the situation calls for it. To the runner’s left is the sidelines, to his right and in front of him are defenders, dug in and with outstretched arms. The runner with the ball then leaps up and over the defenders into the end zone. Likewise, in basketball, I’ve seen  players dives for  loose balls:  leaping over the scorer’s table and into the stands. Momentum carries him forward, yet the player avoids stepping on spectators or tripping over seats, rails, or steps. The amazing agility athletes possess  is  due to their natural athleticism and, more importantly, the years of practice and drills. When the need arises, atheletes are able to make their bodies do what their mind decides must be done in the present situation. And their bodies perform because they are disciplined.

Habakkuk makes a bold declaration of faith in the Lord. In good times and in bad times, he determines to rejoice in the Lord. It is easy to rejoice in the Lord when things are going well. But when bills are due, the economy is bad, little Jaquan or Quandrica wants a laptop or iPhone for Christmas and the money is not there: It is hard for the praise to come out. It gets stuck in the throat somewhere.

Perhaps there is a need to practice praise, practice rejoicing. Paul says to “Rejoice Always, again I say Rejoice!” We should strive to make praising, rejoicing, and thanksgiving a  constant part of your life. We should discipline our minds to  bless God continually for small things and big things. We should practice rejoicing in the Lord for the victories we experience daily and for all the times we are delivered out of tough situations.  We must train our minds  — our praise and rejoicing  muscles so to speak — to be able to spot all the big and small ways we are blessed each and every day.

Making rejoicing  a regular practice will help us see that day by day, we are becoming more agile, our reflexes sharper, our peripheral vision wider, and we become more able  to handle sticky situations which use to defeat us in the past. We are able to act Godly and victoriously in any situation. We become confident – not in ourselves  — but in the fact that God is our strength and he will make us as agile and as fast, and as alert and as strong as a deer, so that we are able to avoid the tricks and traps of the devil. We are able to climb over mountains which would have limited, frustrated, or crushed us in the past. We will be able to over come in the midst of worlds troubles because our foothold is sure, our faith is strong, and our God is our strength.

We need to learn to see Him. We need to learn how to be conscious of His presence and His workings at all times. A phrase some Christians use is “Practicing the  Presence of God.” The following are some verses which can help us detect our Lord and increase the strength and accuracy of our “Godar.”

• Genesis 17:1: God is behind me.
  • And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
• Deuteronomy 13:4: God is before me.
  • Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.
• Psalm 91:1 : God is above me.
  • He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
• Psalms 40:2 Beneath me as my rock
  • He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
• Genesis 6:9 &  Genesis 5:24 , Revelation 3:4:God is beside me.
  • And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
  • Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy
• Psalm 16:8 : God is on my right.(south)
  • I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
• Job 23:9 : God is on my left (north).
  • On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him:
• Psalm 34:7 : God is all around me.
  • 7 The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them
• Colossians 1:27 : Christ is in me.
  • To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

(adopted from http://www.ministrylive.org/index.php/2008/09/15/practicing-the-presence-of-god/)

If we know that God is:

• Before us
• Behind us
• Beneath us
• Above us
• To our right
• To our left
• With me and,
• Within me

We can understand what the Apostle Paul says in Philippians 1.6:

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

And also Philippians 4:6,7

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus