Hungry?

II Samuel 21:1 says  Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David sought the presence of the Lord. And the Lord said,…

This is an interesting passage. There was a problem in the land – one of famine.  David walked with God and knew him, yet when this problem arose, David began to seek the presence of the Lord.

Is it possible that we can drift away from his presence?  

Adam and Eve left God’s presence when they disobeyed, so maybe David was looking at himself to see if there was any ill will toward God, or anything that was causing or bringing on the famine.

There are times when tough times come, due to our own mistakes or shortcoming.  There are other times when the rain falls, just because we’re standing under the heavy clouds.  But in either situation, the wisest thing to do is to seek his presence…to seek and search and see…if there is anything God wants to say to us.

And God was faithful to David, as he began to speak to him.

God will be faithful to us, as well, when we seek his presence in any time of need, even if we’re starving and thirsty.

In the Presence

Deuteronomy 14:23

You shall eat in the presence of the Lord your God, at the place where He chooses to establish His name, the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and your flock, so that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always.

More directives from a loving God who wants to bless us – we need to eat (enjoy his bounty) in his presence – the place where HE chooses to establish his name.

Wherever God establishes us is where we need to be, not where we push and pull to make a name for ourselves.  He might establish us in a local church, serving on a hospitality committee, at a school serving as a hall monitor, or at home serving as a devoted mom. 

Then once we are established, we must remember that we bear (carry) his name, and that all we have is from Him, and all that we can give is to Him, so that we may learn what it is to serve in, and enjoy, his presence.

There’s something life-giving about being in the presence of the Lord, where he is, and it should be our lifelong pursuit to understand how to stay where he is, and respond to his presence.

Just as He Says

Numbers 32:27

^… while your servants, everyone who is armed for war, will cross over in the presence of the Lord to battle, just as my lord says.

Only two guys went into the promised land and saw the obstacles, yet came back full of faith that it belonged to them, because of God’s promise.  They didn’t shrink back in fear but armed themselves for war and realized one important thing:

The only way to cross over into the promised lane is to do so in the presence of the Lord.

Without His presence we would be unwise to cross over into anything new, especially a land full of obstacles.

The presence of the Lord is with those who believe, those who obey, and those who adore Him.  Any other place is a place of sure defeat.

But any obstacle, no matter how big (and the promised land had giants) is easily conquered in the presence of the Lord.

Wherever the Lord leads, he goes before us, and if we follow, the land is ours.

Consumed and Gone

Leviticus 10 Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.

This act wasn’t one of ignorance, it was one of defiance against the way things God said were to be done.  The “strange fire” could have been pride.  They rushed in during a holy time to offer their own offering, one of their own doing.  They offered their own fire, so to speak, in the presence of God’s fire.

Any time we offer our own good in the presence of our Good God, it will be consumed.  Our own good is not acceptable, it’s sinful, it’s laced with pride and self-absorption and “look at me” mentality.  That is not acceptable in his presence.

In his presence we should enter in humble, in adoration, on our knees as we bow our hearts, our desires, and our thoughts before a holy God.

One reference says had these guys done this ignorantly, they could than have offered a sin offering.  But they did this arrogantly, and pride has no place in his presence. 

At all.

Rest

Exodus 33:14

And He said, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.” Then he said to Him, “If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here.

Moses is conversing with God about taking all of those people through the wilderness on their journey to the promised land.

God says his presence with go with them and give them rest.  Now that’s an amazing promise, because they were about to enter a time of testing in the wilderness where they would grow weary, hungry and thirsty.  But God said that in the middle of that experience his presence would give them rest.

And Moses acknowledges that without His presence they didn’t want to step one foot forward.

Sometimes we just start off without a thought and try to make it in our own strength, by our own wisdom, and with our own understanding.  And we fail to sit and experience His presence – the place that brings us rest.  We find ourselves lost, wandering, and discouraged.

I want God’s presence with me at all times, because I want to live in a position of rest.  

So maybe if we’re not feeling so restful, maybe we’ve moved out of his presence.

Set the Bread

Exodus 25:30  You shall set the bread of the Presence on the table before Me at all times.

God gave specific instructions to the Children of Israel on how to construct the ark, the piece they were to carry with them at all times.  It was to be built with their own abundance, their own materials.  Every piece of it was symbolic of God’s presence, his communion that he desired with his people.

God wants us.  He desires our fellowship.  It’s why he created us in the first place.  But he is holy, and we are not.

I love the phrase “you shall set the bread of the presence…” indicating that it’s up to us as to whether or not we want to be in his presence.  

We can choose to follow him, obey him, honor him and love him, and experience his presence of provision so that we hunger and thirst no more – or we can run and hide, naked, afraid, and ashamed.

It’s never God who leaves our table.  

It’s we who don’t set a place for him.

The Presence

Genesis 3:8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

I am about to begin a study on His presence.  I recently finished studying prayer and realized that we really need to long for his presence more than his answers.  And I realized that some days I’d rather have the answers, and I’d rather have lots of things…over his presence.  

So why do I not long for his presence? I want to find out.

In this first verse with the word “presence” we see it mentioned in the context of Adam and Eve hiding after they had disobeyed God – away from his presence.  Prior to their disobedience, they enjoyed his presence in the garden, and now they avoided it.

Sin will do that.  Disobedient children hide from their parents, hoping they won’t be seen and found out and punished. 

If we only knew that our loving Father is merciful and full of grace and accepts us when we disobey, we would run straight into his arms, not away from them.

That’s something to think about today. 

Are we just hearing the “sound” of God walking in the garden, or are we actually walking with him?