Day 88
Reading: 2 Sam. 4:1 - 2 Sam. 7:29
God desires to walk with us. Just the thought that God desires my fellowship fills me with awe. The Creator of the Universe, the Lord Almighty desires to walk with each one of us. From the beginning of time, it was the intention of God that we walk in communion with Him. That we reflect His goodness and glory in everything here on earth. Eden was a template and mankind was to extend Eden to cover the whole earth as the population surged. Eden was a place where God fellowshipped with mankind. Eden was not a church service or a prayer room. Eden was so much more. Eden was about dwelling in the Presence of God.
As we have read in the Bible so far we have seen what God can do with anyone given to Him wholly. Reading the life of David I am challenged how he constantly sang songs of praise to God and was a man of prayer. Numerous times we see the phrase that he inquired of the Lord. He sought counsel from God regularly. David didn't go into battle with having God's backing. David realised that unless God was with him he would never exterminate his enemies.
With this in mind, David decides that he needs to have the Ark of the Covenant brought from where it was being kept. He understood that God was to be worshipped and desired to worship God. His intention of bringing the Ark to Jerusalem was to have the people worship at the capital city. David understood that he had a role in bringing the people together to worship God and as the king, he couldn't do this without the Ark being nearby. The process of getting the Ark to Jerusalem teaches us a few things about being one who carries the Presence of God.
Firstly, seek to know the expectations and requirements of God. The Ark was never to be carried on a cart. It was to be carried on the shoulders of men. To carry the Presence of God in your life understand that it is to be the weight on your life displacing every other weight. What I find amazing is that David had access to a priest and didn't query or receive instructions on how to go about bringing the Ark to Jerusalem? Is it that he didn't ask the proper way of carrying the Ark? Is it that the nation was so backslidden that they didn't understand that God has His set standards? Today we find many believers have shifted the standards and display lives that are powerless because they are 'Presence-less'. I wonder if they made a cart because the Philistines sent the Ark back to the children of Israel on a cart - 1 Sam. 6:11. Many believers today have not spent the time to know God's ways so as to manifest His Presence as He desires.Don't make a cart to carry the Presence of God and expect to see His power. Let your life carry His Presence.
Secondly, David understood the power of praise. The Ark was brought to Jerusalem accompanied by praise, worship and sacrifices. You cannot carry the Presence of God as a grumbler or complainer. God dwells in the midst of His praises. David understood that praise and worship to God drew God's attention to any situation.
Thirdly, David was not scared to lay aside his royalty to worship God and danced before Him with all his strength. David understood that all he had was because of the blessing of God in His life and that only God deserved the best worship. Don't allow your position in life to stop your worship.
Fourth, don't be intimidated by others in your desire and pursuit to carry the Presence of God. Michal, David's wife the daughter of Saul rebuked David for dancing naked before other women. David was least concerned with the public opinion. As far as he was concerned he was dancing before God. In the presence of God, all else should pale insignificance. Michal never had a child because of her humanistic perspective.
Lastly, have a hunger for the Presence of God. Adam and Eve after sinning didn't have a hunger for the Presence of God instead they hid from God. Flee from sin and hunger for God's Presence. Be hungry for that which pleases God. As long as you hunger for God, you can be sure He will fill you with Himself. Even as David was rising as a king and his exploits were well known he was hungry for the Presence of God.
In the analogy of bringing the Ark, God gives us an example of what He is capable of doing if we invite Him into our lives and desire to have the Presence of God in our lives. Obed-Edom saw the power of God's presence in all that pertained to him for the 90 days the Ark was with him, in that he prospered exceedingly. Obed-Edom means the servant of the earth, in other words, a hard worker. This gentleman because of one encounter with the Presence of God saw his name mentioned in the palace because of the blessing that came upon him. Hard work without God is laborious, however, hard work accompanied by God's Presence brings about a different aroma in one's life. Have a desire to carry the Presence of God and live a sanctified life separated to God alone. You will encounter God's blessings that your name will be mentioned in high places. May people discuss you not because of what they left for you but because of what God has done for you.
David didn't just desire to bring the Ark to Jerusalem, he desired to build the House of God. With the Ark in Jerusalem, God gave David rest from all his enemies. As God raises you to the place where you walk in greatness may you not forget the House of God. Build the House of God. God tells Nathan the prophet to speak to David and in recognition of David's desire God makes a covenant with David that His mercy would never be removed from his descendants. God also promises that He will settle the children of God and give them a place. Your desire to build for God will result in blessings untold.
Memory Verse: 2 Sam. 5:10
Decree:
Declare this passage over yourself and family.
Then Charles went in and sat before the Lord; and he said: “Who am I, O Lord God? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far? And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O Lord God; and You have also spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come. Is this the manner of man, O Lord God? Now, what more can I say to You? For You, Lord God, know Your servant. For Your word’s sake, and according to Your own heart, You have done all these great things, to make Your servant know them. Therefore You are great, O Lord God. For there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears. And who is like Your people, like Israel, the one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make for Himself a name—and to do for Yourself great and awesome deeds for Your land—before Your people whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, the nations, and their gods? For You have made Your people Israel Your very own people forever; and You, Lord, have become their God. “Now, O Lord God, the word which You have spoken concerning Your servant and concerning his house, establish it forever and do as You have said. So let Your name be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is the God over Israel.’ And let my house be established before You. For You, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed this to Your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ Therefore Your servant has found it in his heart to pray this prayer to You. “And now, O Lord God, You are God, and Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant. Now, therefore, let it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue before You forever; for You, O Lord God, have spoken it, and with Your blessing let the house of Your servant be blessed forever.”2 Sam. 7:18-29 (italics mine, paraphrased.)
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