Day #276 - The Lost Ark
The Presence - A Devotional for living in Thanksgiving, Worship and Wonder
“David conferred with each of his officers, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. He then said to the whole assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you and if it is the will of the Lord our God, let us send word far and wide to the rest of our people throughout the territories of Israel, and also to the priests and Levites who are with them in their towns and pasturelands, to come and join us. Let us bring the ark of our God back to us, for we did not inquire of it during the reign of Saul.” The whole assembly agreed to do this, because it seemed right to all the people.”
1 Chronicles 13:1-4 NIV
Have you ever lost something that caused you to be deeply unsettled too look for it until you find it?
The day after our wedding day, Grace and I traveled to Kauai for our honeymoon. Just a day or two into our trip, we decided to go snorkeling. My mask had a crack in it and so I stood up in the shallow ocean to take a look at it. While looking at my mask I noticed by wedding ring (that I had for just a few days now) was missing from my finger. I told Grace and we started panicking. I retraced my steps to the car. She was searching with her mask frantically. We were praying in the Spirit. She got really sad and started crying. I was really sad but grabbed her mask to keep looking through the rocks and constantly shifting sands beneath us. While I was looking, a woman approached Grace who could tell we were looking for something. She asked her a few questions about what we were looking for and gave her my ring. Her boyfriend was a diver and found it on the ocean floor. What a sweet relief and joy to have back what was lost.
During David’s kingship, it dawned on him that the people of Israel had been missing the Ark of the Covenant in the sense that it was no longer central to Israel’s worship during Saul’s reign as king. The Philistines stole the Ark at one point and broke out in tumors so they returned it. But Saul and the people of Israel lost the importance of having the Ark and “the Presence” at their center. They did not minister to the Lord as He prescribed and David said they did not inquire of it during Saul’s reign.
If God’s presence has lost its prominence in Your life would you do anything to search Him out again? Is “the Presence” your priority? Are you okay living without God’s glory in Your life?
Complacency about “the Presence” will cause us to lose the manifestation of His glory in our lives and churches. We don’t earn His nearness but we have to stay thankful and prioritize being with Him. There are many distractions and good reasons that we often have for not letting His presence be central in our lives. But we should have a posture that we can’t live without Him. We should stay hungry and desperate, so that if His presence is not our priority, we would do anything to get Him back.
Be like King David and His honor and pursuit of the Ark of God’s presence. Do whatever you need to do to recover God’s presence in your midst.
Lord Jesus, I love Your presence. Let me stay hungry and desperate for Your presence. Without You I have nothing. May I be diligent to pursue You and not let complacency enter into my life. I love the place Your glory dwells. You are my reward and prize. In Your name, amen.
Thank You Heavenly Father for letting me be in Your presence always Lord God and bask in Your Glorious Peace!
You ask us if we are ok with living without God's glory in our lives. I absolutely am not. To me that is not living, it's just barely existing. In Him we live and move and have our being. He is the way, the truth, and the life. There is NO life outside of Him. As the deer pants after the water, so my soul pants after thee oh God. I need You Lord each and every moment. You are my hope, my desire, and my life. Thank you Abba, Jesus and Holy Spirit.