When God Arises in Us

Psalm 68:1 – “God shall arise, His enemies shall be scattered; and those who hate Him shall flee before Him!”

There’s a cry that echoes from the pages of Scripture, a bold, confident declaration that has stirred generations: “God shall arise, His enemies shall be scattered!”

This isn’t just poetic language. It’s a spiritual reality. A shift in atmosphere. A movement of divine power.

We first see this declaration in Numbers 10:35, when the children of Israel set out from camp, following the movement of God’s presence as signaled by the cloud. Every time the cloud moved, Moses would say, “Rise up, O Lord! Let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate You flee before You.” It wasn’t just tradition, Moses’ declaration became Israel’s expectation. When God moves, things shift. Enemies retreat. Darkness flees.

But what if this wasn’t just about geography or external enemies?

What if God arising wasn’t only a call for Him to move out there, but a cry for Him to arise within us?

God, Arise in Me

Psalm 68 picks up this ancient call and sings it again, but we’re invited to make it personal:  God, arise in me.

Let every enemy of Your purpose in my life scatter.  Let the plans and schemes that resist Your will be disarmed. Let fear, pride, bitterness, doubt, whatever opposes Your nature in me, flee at the rising of Your presence!

The Bible says, “God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet” (Psalm 47:5). In our praise, God arises. When we exalt Him, we are not making Him higher, He’s already enthroned, He’s already exalted.  But we are bringing Him into focus, into rule, into the center of our lives.

And here’s the paradox:

The more I decrease, the more He is exalted in me. This is not just a physical bowing, this is humility of the heart, the surrender of self, the dying to “my way” so that His way rules.

Worship: The Catalyst for God’s Rising

Worship isn’t just a song. If it is, we’ve reduced it, flattened it into an emotional or musical experience. But true worship is where God arises in us.

Why? Because worship feeds the spirit-life and starves the self-life. And when the self is starved, its byproducts, its works, must flee.


Pride. Control. Lust. Jealousy. Insecurity. They scatter. They melt like wax before fire. They drift like smoke in the wind.

“As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; as wax melts before fire, so let the wicked perish before God!” (Psalm 68:2)

These are not forced reactions, they’re supernatural results of the environment of God’s presence.

When He Arises, Joy Remains

So what’s left when the self-life has been scattered?

Joy.

Gladness.

Rejoicing.

Exceeding joy.

“But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy!” (Psalm 68:3)

This is the ecosystem of worship. When God is exalted, enemies are scattered.  When self is humbled, His Spirit fills tour hearts.  And when His Spirit fills our hearts, the fruit of the Spirit grows…love, joy, peace, and more (Galatians 5).

Let This Be Our Cry

God, arise in me.

Let my worship not be a song only, but a surrender.

Let every area where I have enthroned self now make room for You.

Arise, O God.

Scatter what opposes You.

And let gladness remain.

This is the power of praise.

This is the warfare of worship.

This is what happens when God arises.