By: Marilyn Howard
The stillness of the room was palpable. Even within the ordinary living of a cluttered bedroom, time stood still. The visitation of death had presented itself. Family members attended with deepest sorrow to process their grief. The family pressed together, some holding hands and others engulfed in embraces that soothed their souls. The tension of unbelief about the loss eased as memories were shared. There is a pause. A daughter lying with a mother gone to rest, granddaughters sweetly caring for one another, a son caring for his wife. What a sacred moment. A moment where it is declared, “Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.”
My mind is taken to Jacob in Genesis 28. He was on his journey from Beersheba to Haran. It was late in the evening, and Jacob began to make provision for his night’s rest. As he settled into sleep, he had a beautiful vision of angels ascending and descending a ladder that reached to heaven. He saw the Lord standing above it all, and it is here that Jacob hears this beautiful message that the Lord gives him of the future of his posterity and promises of His enduring presence. Jacob then awakens from his slumber and was so moved by his experience that he declared, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”
Our world today so often is asking, “God, where are you?” The non-believer who teeters and thinks that there may be a God but can’t prove it will ask the question. The believer will also ask the question when there is a crisis at hand and can’t seem to grasp the circumstances. People of old have posed the question. The Psalmist often cried out the very sentiment that God is not to be found. Habakkuk, surrounded by overwhelming injustice and violence, wondered how long he was going to cry before the Lord sent help. Job certainly expressed in Job 23:8-9 that, whether he moved forward or backward, on either hand, he could not perceive God. It has been a question asked through the ages.
I would like to remind you that God has always wanted to dwell with His people. We see from the beginning of time, where instructions were given to Moses to “build a sanctuary that I may dwell in their midst” (Exodus 25:8). And then down through the ages to the end of time in Revelation 21, where God declares that His dwelling place is with man. God’s pronouncement of His dwelling with His people resounds throughout the ages.
So often, we forget that God is present because He promised. The missing link is our response. So, we miss it. We can be so buried in our circumstances that we do not perceive. How do we move past God’s presence just being a theological concept to, as Jacob moved, to be able to perceive God’s presence? He worshipped. He had an experience with God’s presence.
Remember, El-Shaddai and His complete all-encompassing presence are dwelling with you. He wants to have an experience with each of us.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, Thank you so much for your steadfast love and for your promise to be with each of us. Please give us a different vision of you dwelling with your children and your gracious presence. Help us to perceive and the courage to respond to your enduring presence.