Thy Smiling Presence

Brothers and sisters, though it be with tears in our eyes, we must say day by day, "Lord, nothing but Thy smiling presence will satisfy me. I do not want anything but the smile of Thy glorious face. As long as I have this, I care not whether the heaven comes down or the earth falls apart. The whole world may rise against me, but as long as I have Thy smile upon me, I can praise Thee, and everything is well." The Lord said, "My presence shall go with thee." What a treasure! The presence, the smile of the Lord, is the governing principle. We must be fearful of receiving anything from the Lord, yet losing His presence. This is indeed a fearful thing. The Lord Himself may very well give you something, and yet that very thing will rob you of His presence. He will help you, He will bless you, and yet that very help and blessing can keep you away from His presence. We must learn to be kept, to be ruled, to be governed, to be guided simply by the presence of the Lord. We must tell the Lord that we do not want anything but His direct presence. We do not want His presence secondhand. Many times, be assured, you have the secondhand presence of the Lord; it is not firsthand, it is not direct. Try to be governed by the direct, firsthand presence of the Lord.