David lived with a passion for God’s presence.
Do I?
David began the journey with excitement. He was bringing home the ark of the covenant—the representation of the very presence of God! But the parade turned into brokenness when the Lord struck out at Uzzah for mishandling the ark. David, with fear and anger, became immobilized. So the ark went to someone else’s house.
How do I “mishandle” the presence of God? Do I take His presence for granted? How often am I even consciously aware that He is with me? Do I really believe that I would act differently if only He were physically with me, as in the form of a box? Where is my passion for His presence?
It took David 3 months to work up enough courage and motivation to try again to pursue God’s presence. After hearing how Obed-edom was blessed by his time with God’s presence (ark) in his house, David knew it would be worth it. This time he did it God’s way.
And this time the parade finished its route.
The lesson for me?
One is “don’t give up.” Another is “do it God’s way—the first time!” But the overwhelming lesson is “celebrate.” Celebrate that I don’t have to go through elaborate rituals to have the Holy Father with me…celebrate that I don’t have to live in fear that He will strike me dead when I mess up…celebrate that His dwelling place is now not only WITH me, but WITHIN me!
While I may not always keep Him in my conscious awareness, that does not negate the fact that he IS always here. He doesn’t live only in my memory or in my imagination, but He lives in my reality.
I want my life to reflect that reality…with a passion for His presence.
--notes from Wednesday's class, October 3
No comments:
Post a Comment