People in Ministry (3)
So it was, whenever Moses went out to the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and each man stood at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle. And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses. All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door. Exodus 33.8-10
The greatest blessing
The people of Israel, mindful of the grace and mercy God had showed in their redemption from Egypt and in their humbling and restoration in the incident of the golden calf, were drawn to worship whenever He made His Presence known among them. The love of God for them—His Presence, power, and patience—was burned into their souls. They were His people, and He was their God.
God promised that He would go up with His people and give them rest in His Presence. He showed them His Presence in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. Thus, the people were continuously reminded that God, the God of their redemption, the God Who forgave them in love, was continually in their midst. And when they knew His Presence among them, they worshiped.
The Presence of the Lord—His being with us, where we are, and us with Him, where He is in glory (Eph. 2.6)—is the greatest blessing anyone can ever know. In the Presence of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ are fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore (Ps. 16.11). It is the joy we know in the love and Presence of the Lord that generates the desire to serve Him in love.
Two aspects
The Presence of the Lord with His people is both personal and corporate. We see the power of God’s Presence personally in the example of Jacob, waking from his dream. He was overwhelmed with the tremendous, weighty sense of the Lord being with Him at Bethel. God was there. Jacob knew His Presence. And the promise of His Presence moved Jacob to gratitude, worship, and new resolve in following the Lord and serving Him (Gen. 28.10-22).
Paul’s sense of the Presence of God in the midst of a storm at sea gave him boldness to speak out against the folly of those in charge, insisting instead that they listen to him and do what he told them. They did, of course, and all hands were saved (Acts 27).
When God’s people know His Presence with them personally, when they are filled with His Spirit, gripped by the vision of Christ exalted, and acutely aware of the glory of God, they are lifted and emboldened in their heart, enlarged in their mind, overflowing with wonder and gratitude, and urgent and eager to do the Lord’s bidding, whatever He asks.
God’s Presence with us personally moves us to serve Him in gratitude and love.
The same is true when God’s people know His Presence with them corporately. When we are together worshiping the Lord, this realization of His Presence can be so powerful, so other-worldly, that it draws out from us praise and thanksgiving so profound that, at times, we cannot even utter the words for what we feel.
At other times, the Presence of God in worship will move us to tears—of sorrow for sin, or gladness for redemption—and cause our heart to race with powerful spiritual affections and a desire to serve the Lord. The tragedy of worship these days is that it has become more focused on us—what we desire, enjoy, or find satisfying—than on the Presence of God and submitting to His will. But when, in worship, we know the Lord’s Presence with us, then our worship will be sincere, will draw out from us heartfelt praise and gratitude, and will move us to obey the Law of God and all His Word in good works of ministry.
Having the Lord
But we don’t teach much about the Presence of the Lord these days. Most of us are like Job: We know God with the ear—intellectually—but not with the eye—experientially (Job 42.5, 6). We seem more concerned to have the Lord’s blessings than to have the Lord Himself. As Lewis wrote in The Weight of Glory, we are too easily satisfied. God offered all His promised blessing to Moses in Exodus 33, but Moses had the good sense to seek not merely the goodness of the land but the Presence of the Lord with them.
Once begin to know, with increasing regularity and force, that weighty, all-transcending, bearing-down-around-and-upon-you Presence of the living God, and you will be moved beyond every mundane or trivial concern to seek the exceedingly abundant more of mercy and grace the Lord has in store, and to cry with all your soul, “Here am I, Lord; send me!”
When we, redeemed and renewed in the mercy of God, begin to realize anew the Presence of the Lord—individually and as congregations—we will be more eager and available to serve Him in ministry. In the Presence of the Lord, we shall be moved to give and to serve in ways we have never known before. A church of God’s people, stirred in the hearts for works of ministry, will say eagerly to the Lord, “All that the Lord has spoken, we will do.”
For reflection or discussion
1. What do we mean by “the Presence of the Lord”? He is with us always (Matt. 28.20), but are you always aware of His Presence? Explain.
2. Corporate worship should be designed to lead us into the very Presence of God. What are the keys for a worship service to do that?
3. How would you explain to a new believer what is involved in knowing the Presence of the Lord?
Next steps—Transformation: Spend some time in prayer, seeking the Presence of the Lord, waiting for Him, focusing on Jesus, and asking Him to make His Presence known more continually to you.
T. M. Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
