Exodus 40:4-35 - Then the cloud
covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled
the tabernacle. And Moses was not able
to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the
glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
One year after they left Egypt…the tabernacle was finished. Moses had followed the exact instructions God
had given him…even to the order of assembly. So God wasted no time keeping his
promise to Moses to go with him….and settled the cloud that contained his
presence over the tent of meeting within its court. At night the people could
still see that god was there with them…for the cloud became a fire at night.
Part of me wanted to spend time wondering what that awesome
visual would have looked like…but then my heart told me it was more important
to capture the feeling of contentment and wonder that must have filled each
person as they gazed upon the curious cloud that changed form at night. It was …by
Moses own words…too powerful for even Moses to enter when it was there.
We live in a different time and place…void of the need to
build a tabernacle and keep an ark behind a veil to protect us from God’s
glory. Jesus died to open a way for all
to experience his presence...the veil of separation torn from top to bottom
when he gave up his perfect life as a sacrifice for all sin. Jesus promised in
Matthew 28: 20 to be with us always.
God manifests his presence in more than clouds that turn to
fire at night. He sends friends to comfort when we are troubled. He fills our heart with gladness and contentment
when we search for him with all that we are.
God sends his love and presence in all different forms through those
that love him. John says it best for me in 1 John 4:12-13 … “ No
one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His
love has been perfected in us. By this we know
that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
God knew those Israelites loved him and wanted to get it
right because they followed his instructions for building that tabernacle. God knows we love him and want to get it
right when we drop our own agendas and seek his will for our life. We know when
we are on the right path because we sense him inside of us …that spirit that he
promised living in us and telling us what to do.
I don’t ever want to forget that God is with me…even when I can’t
see him. I see him in the tiny buds on
my trees as they wake up from a winter nap.
I hear him in the sweet song the birds sing to me each morning and
evening. I feel him in the soft breezes
that wash across my face when I sit on my back porch. I taste him in the food I eat each day. I smell him in the wonderful aroma of the
flowers that are starting to bloom all around me…even though my allergies make
that particularly dangerous to my health….lol.
Father...thank you for the reminder that you are with me …
constantly presenting who you are to me through the world you created. Forgive me for the times that take for
granted the many ways you try to reveal yourself to me. Help me to be more aware of the things around
me and use them to help me take the right journey through life….the one you
mapped out for me before I was born.
Amen.
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