After a time, I realized part of the answer is that this involves the favor of God. In the OT, the word used is literally ‘face’ so God promises Moses that his face will go with him on Israel’s journey to Canaan. In Exodus 33:14, He said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
Moses recognized this as God’s favor on His people. He makes his face shine on them and turns His face toward them. When He is displeased with them, He sets his face against them, or hides His face, turning it away. He is not gone, but the sense of His pleasure is missing. Moses responded in Exodus 33:15–16 by saying, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?”
The psalms speak of this in a poetic fashion, knowing God is everywhere but also recognizing that the sense of His presence is vital to their walk with and enjoyment of Him:
Psalm 16:11. “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
Psalm 51:11. “Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.”
Psalm 95:2. “Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!”
Psalm 140:13. “Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name; the upright shall dwell in your presence.”
The people of God knew that God is always there, yet that did not mean they were in His favor. In Isaiah 3:8, the prophet said, “For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen, because their speech and their deeds are against the Lord, defying his glorious presence.” Even today, people shake their fist at the God they know is present — and fleeing is futile, as the story of Jonah illustrates.
The NT quotes the OT concerning ‘presence’ meaning the face and favor of God (Acts 2:28 and 3:20), but also acknowledges the Lord God being with them, such as when Cornelius invited Peter to speak to his household who were all “in the presence of God” waiting to hear him.
1 Timothy 5:21. “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality.”
2 Timothy 4:1–2. “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.”
Jude 24. “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy . . . .”
GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. For me, the bottom line is recognizing that God is always here with me, and with that awareness, paying attention to His will rather than my own. I don’t want to ever lose the sense of His presence. Of course this is not totally possible in this life as I battle sin and whatever Satan might throw at me. However, there is one thing that helps. It was in a classic book (can’t remember which one) that the author suggested God’s presence is like the air around us. If I stop what I am doing and think about the air and then about God, His presence almost always becomes very real to me. This focus is a big part of what it means to gaze into His glory, and by doing that, Scripture says I will become more and more like Jesus. I cannot evaluate that part, but I can say that knowing the nearness of God changes my attitude and deepens my desire to be like Him and stay close to Him.
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