“I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”
—Psalm 27:13

In 1978 when Jesus supernaturally manifested Himself to me in my bedroom in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, I instantly became aware of the fact that God was real, that He was alive, and that Yeshua was the way to Him. And ever since that time, my heart’s desire has been to experience the presence of God in my life. I’m not just waiting to die and go to heaven; I want to experience more of God here on earth.

Sometimes people hear a gospel preached that goes something like this: “If you receive Jesus, you’ll be saved from your sins, and when you die, you’ll go to heaven.” So people go to the altar, repeat a prayer someone told them to say, and leave after being told their sins are forgiven. Then they pretty much think all there is for the rest of their Christian life is to study the Bible and wait to die and go to heaven.

But in today’s verse, David says he would have despaired if he hadn’t believed he would see the Lord right now while he was still in the land of the living. David expected to experience God’s presence in his lifetime. He believed he could see God’s beauty, power, love, compassion, and glory on this side of eternity. And David said in essence, “If I didn’t believe that, I would have no reason for living. I’d be in despair just to wake up every day.” David’s passion was God Himself. He said, “One thing do I seek—to be in Your temple all the days of my life and experience Your beauty.” (See Psalm 27:4.)

So my prayer, beloved one, is that you and I will understand as David did that we can experience God today, because HaShem is not only our God forever after; He’s the God of the now.

Father God, like David I cry out to experience Your presence in the land of the living. I pray for more of You—more of Your presence and power, more of Your glory and beauty on this side of eternity. Thank You, Father God, for revealing Yourself to me today and continuously in a brand-new way.

Rabbi Kirt A. Schneider, Rivers of Divine Truth (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2021), Used by permission.