GETTING READY FOR GOD

February 26, 2020

God longs to be known and has made every provision for this occur. But, if you desire to know and experience God in greater measure, there are things you must do to get ready for Him. In the last chapter of the book of Exodus, we see God giving Moses instructing about this.

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “On the first day of the first month you shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting … thus Moses did; according to all that the LORD had commanded him, so he did … Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. (Exodus 40:1-2, 16, 34-35)

Moses followed God as He had instructed him. He prepared the place and God came in power with His visible, real presence. And His presence changes everything.

OUR HIGHEST CALLING AND GREATEST PRIVILEGE

If you are a follower of Christ, Christ now lives in you. The body, soul, and spirit of the true believer form the temple in which God dwells (1 Corinthians 16:10). But we can abort the fullness of His presence flowing through us by our disobedience and sin. We can ignore His presence in us, enticed by the trinkets and values of the world. We can be filled with ourselves and not Him.

But, if we will prepare with humble hearts; if we will repent of all our turning away from Him and ask Him to make Himself known to us and through us, we will experience His glory. Paul spoke of “Christ in us, the hope of glory!” (Colossians 1:27).

Not only does He want to fill our lives, but He longs to invade the places around us: our homes, our churches, our workplaces, our neighborhoods. He wants to display His glory if we will cooperate with Him. His endgame is this:

“The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord like waters that cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14).

We don’t have to wait for this. God is waiting on us to prepare, pray, and surrender and He will fill the house.

And, He wants to do it now.

Father, forgive me for forgetting that Your Spirit dwells in me. That you have designed to make my life the tabernacle of Your glory. That You want to flow through me to a watching, needy world. I surrender afresh my body, soul, and spirit to You for Your use! Fill me with Yourself—Your glory—so people can encounter Christ in me! And Lord, would you fill Your church this week with Your glory? My home? My neighborhood? My city? So that people will be filled with the knowledge of Your glory? For what we need, more than anything else, is YOU!

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