I was fortunate enough to get a window seat on the flight to California. Looking at the cloud formations, there is no way a person cannot be moved in feeling God's presence. To know God's eye was on that cloud as it was building higher and higher into the sky was an overwhelming thought.
Psalm 32:8-9 says, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you."God is everywhere, but He doesn't turn His face and His favor everywhere. That is why He tells us to seek His face. Yes, He is present with you all of the time but how long has it been since your hunger for Him caused you to crawl up in His lap like a child and take the face of God to turn it toward you? God desires intimacy with you and His face should be our highest focus.
The Israelites referred to the manifest presence of God as the skekinah glory of God. When David talked about bringing the ark of the covenant back to Jerusalem, he wasn't interested in the gold-covered box with artifacts inside it. He wanted the blue flame that hovered between the wings of the cherubim on top of the ark. That's what he wanted because it signified that God Himself was present. And wherever that glory or manifested presence of God went, there was victory, power and blessing.
I want the restoration of the manifested presence of God in my life. Just as when Moses was exposed to the glory of God, the residue of that glory caused his face to shine so much that when he came back down from the mountain, the people said, "Moses, you must cover your face. We can't bear to look at you."
Whatever or whoever is exposed to the manifested presence of God begins to absorb the very matter of God.
Who or what are you allowing yourself to be exposed to today?
(Barbie will be speaking in Oxford Saturday at Noon for "Girls Day Out" sponsored by Baptist Memorial Hospital. This event is SOLD OUT.)
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