Living in His Presence

 

 

And He said, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."

15 Then he said to Him, "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth." Exodus 33:14-16

 

Moses understood something that could change the way we view our world.  He recognized that the people that we hang with- and what they do- have a profound impact on our ability to enjoy the Lord's presence.  We cannot serve man or other gods and remain in His presence.  Because of the sin that the Israelites had committed while Moses was on the mountain, God was not going to travel with Moses any more.  His company was alienating him from the presence of God. 

Moses recognized that if any way he went, precluded the participation of the Holy Spirit, that he did not want a part of it.  He wanted to follow the cloud.  He wanted to walk where the pillar led.  He did not want what God did not want.  So many times we are asking the Lord to finish something we authored.  But God is the author and finisher.  He will only complete or finish that which derives from Him.  If we are headed in a direction that God is not, we must change our course and align our path with His.

From this we  see that we cannot afford to spend time with people who deplete us spiritually.  It is OK to sit and eat with sinners if you are the person of impact.  But if you find yourself sacrificing your standards, the time has come to separate!  God is holy.  He must be reverenced and adored.  Our friends are not worth costing us the presence of God.

The second thing that I take away from this, is that having enjoyed time in the Lord's presence, Moses was ruined.  He could not go back to being without Him.  In "The God Chaser's" Tommy Tenney explains this concept as being ruined by God.  Once we have tasted of His presence, His goodness, His anointing, we are ruined for anything else.  After we have walked with Him how could we ever be satisfied with less?

Dear Lord, I  desire to be in Your presence.  Help me to avoid doing anything that You cannot be a part of- anything that would  separate me from Your Spirit.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

Cast Away

“Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.”  Psalm 51:11

In a society where the name of the Lord is profaned and blasphemed, it is easy to forget what a privilege the presence of the Holy Spirit is.  We can never take for granted His presence in our lives. 

It is through the Spirit, that we are convicted of sin and drawn to God for salvation.  It is through His Spirit that we are encouraged, comforted, taught and led in the ways of God.  The Holy Spirit works in the life of a born-again believer as a constant companion, friend, counselor and personal trainer.  When I have anger in my heart, the Spirit of God reproves me and causes me to be aware of the sin lurking there.  When I see someone at the store, it is the Holy Spirit who impresses me to go to that person and tell them that God loves them or buy them a bag of groceries.  He knows where I need to be; what I need to say and what my heart should be at all times.

In this verse, David is pleading with God to not be cast from the presence or have the Spirit taken from Him.  He recognized his sin and realized that he was unworthy to be in the presence of Almighty God.  He was cognizant of his lack and his pervasive need of God.

We need to mimic the attitude of the psalmist.  He caught the vision that His sin could result in judgment; of him being utterly cast from God.  He also understood God’s prerogative to withdraw himself from an unworthy vessel.

Lord, don’t let my sin separate me from you or cast me out of your presence.  And please, don’t willingly remove yourself from me.  Help me make you comfortable dwelling with me.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri