Exodus 33:1-4 And the LORD said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it:
And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:
Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.
And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments.
The story above narrates one of the experiences of the Israelites during their exodus to the promised land as promised by God to their fathers. In that story, you would notice that God said he was going to send his angel with them to guide them, drive out their enemies before them and also take them to a land flowing with milk and honey. However, despite these good news the people still considered it as bad tidings. Why? Because despite God’s promises to them, he refused to go with them, he denied them his presence because they were a stiff-necked nation.
This makes us understand the importance and relevance of God’s presence in the life of a believer. It also opens our eyes to certain truths; one of which is that a believer can still conquer even without the presence of God, he can still possess some possessions. Another reality revealed is that there are certain attributes that denies a man the presence of God and sin is one of these.
You remember the story of Saul, the King who disobeyed the Lord? You would see that after that incident, the presence of God left him and his life took a turn for the worse. However, he was not dethroned even after God sent Samuel to anoint David as king. This shows that a man can still be in position but may have lost the presence of God.
As believers, we are not ordinary. There is something in us that distinguishes us from others in the environment and that is the presence of God. A believer without the presence of God is no different from every other person in the world.
There is a difference that the presence of God brings to the life of a man, nothing else can ever do that. There is a God-shaped void in the life of a man, only God’s presence can satisfy it.
Exodus 33:15-16 And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.
For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.
Moses recognized the significance of the presence of God to the extent that he refused to go if God’s presence would not follow him. He refused to walk life without the maker of life, he refused to fulfill destiny without the constructor of the destiny. He recognized the fact that it is the presence of God that distinguishes the people and himself from every other person on earth. He knew it was not about their skills, beauty, bravery or whatever; he knew it was the presence of God that made that difference.
He knew it was not about their skills, beauty, bravery or whatever; he knew it was the presence of God that made that difference.
How much do you crave the presence of God? Hope you are aware that his presence is the trademark of your life?
My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.
For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
Psalms 84:2, 10
God makes the difference.
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