God's presence can be felt in many different ways.

When I enter St Andrew’s Church in Golspie, even when it’s empty, I never feel like I am alone.

It always feels like someone else is there. The Bible says: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them” (Matthew 18.20). The Bible also says “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13.5, Joshua 1.5). If you think about these two verses back to back, you realise you are never really alone.

We’ve just been through a long period this year in which many people have had to get used to being on their own much more than they were accustomed to. You’re probably aware of all the increased depression, psychological problems etc that we are hearing about in the news, so we know that not everyone likes being on their own.

I once worked for a boss who said: “I don’t do the alone thing.” He was very much a people person. Some people don’t like being on their own and others do. There are people of both types, though who can tell that they can feel the presence of God with them, at least at times.

It would make sense to conclude that people who don’t believe in God can’t feel His presence. But that may be an over-generalisation because I’ve met some of these people who have admitted to feeling some kind of presence when they enter a church, or have been at a funeral, or even when they’ve been somewhere inspiring, like on a mountain top. They might not admit this presence to be God’s, but they feel it all the same.

God’s presence can be felt in different ways. If you’ve ever been in a group of people who are praying, sometimes it feels like there is a large, comforting, presence in the room, other than that of the people you are with. Sometimes you sense that same presence in church, as I said above. But sometimes you can feel a presence like that when you walk through the door of someone’s house. A home that is happy will attract God and this can often be felt even when the people who live there are absent.

But does that mean that God is absent in an unhappy home? Not exactly. Have you ever felt a sense of absence in a building or place, or even when looking in someone’s eyes? It doesn’t necessarily mean that God is totally absent, but maybe just uncomfortable. Be encouraged that if you’ve had these sensations, you’ve felt the presence, or even absence of God.

A young man I met who wasn’t used to going to church went to one in Aberdeen one Sunday morning to witness me baptising his relative’s new baby. He said: “I thought I was going to burst into flames when I walked in there!” He was just feeling guilt – and the presence of God.

I’m fond of saying from the pulpit that demons are attracted to sin the way flies are attracted to dung. By contrast, but similarly, God is attracted to good things, people and places, so it shouldn’t be surprising if His presence is felt by someone in or around these things. Again, the Bible says: “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy– think about such things... And the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4.8-9).

Instead of feeling sorry for yourself when you are alone, practice evaluating, and changing what you are doing. That will, gradually, make a difference to how lonely or not you feel.

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.