The Presence of God

It’s hard to describe what it feels like to be in the Presence of God. I want to notice His Presence in my life every day. There are some days that His Presence feels stronger than others. According to His Promise, His Presence is ALWAYS with me. He gifted me His Spirit to live inside of me – also known as His Presence.

Shortly after King David was made king over all of Israel, he consulted with his leadership team and decided to bring the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem where it belonged. The Ark of the Covenant represented the Presence of God among the people. King David noted that it had been neglected during the reign of King Saul.

King David sent work to every citizen that the ark would be moved. He orchestrated a great procession with a new cart for the Ark. When they arrived at the “threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled and Uzza put out his hand to steady the ark”. The Lord struck Uzzah because he had put his hand on the ark. This was one of the rules concerning the ark. The Lord expected the Ark to be treated with great respect and reverence. I sometimes wonder if there is more behind this story than we know. I don’t think the people in the processional knew what to do next. Check this out….

¹¹ David was angry because the Lord’s anger had burst out against Uzzah. He named that place Perez-uzzah (which means “to burst out against Uzzah”), as it is still called today.

¹² David was now afraid of God, and he asked, “How can I ever bring the Ark of God back into my care?” ¹³ So David did not move the Ark into the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-edom of Gath. ¹⁴ The Ark of God remained there in Obed-edom’s house for three months, and the Lord blessed the household of Obed-edom and everything he owned. (1 Chronicles 13:11-14 NLT)

I picked up a couple of clues from this story. David had the best of intentions, but should have probably involved the Priests and Levites in the move as they knew full well the proper protocol is dealing with the Ark. The most important lesson I took away from this is how important the Presence of God is in my life. I don’t carry around a box with the Presence of God, but I do carry the Presence of God with me daily in this body of mine. His Spirit dwells inside of me. I need to pay close attention how I treat the Presence of God in me.

I love what appears to be a footnote to this story. It’s the last line of this chapter….. “the Lord blessed the household of Obed-edom and everything he owned.”  This was probably and unexpected day for Obed-edom. He probably felt honored to have the Ark at his place.  I should totally feel honored to have the very Presence of God dwelling in me. I should be grateful for His Presence. I do believe I have been blessed beyond words because of His Presence in me.  His Presence in my life should touch every area of my life, both public and private.

Pressing On!

Dwayne