RESTING IN HIS PRESENCE
“And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest“. Exodus 33:12-14
God’s answer to all human agitation is the manifestation of His presence. God essentially was saying all you need is my presence. It appears God was saying once my presence shows up all that is wrong in the life of a man, all that a man wants to be done is settled by my presence. Moses rehearsed God’s promises here and wondered how they would come to pass, and the divine response was, my presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. God’s presence! No wonder David in Psalms 16:11 said, “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore“. In other words, with your presence, I can be totally settled for joy in life. If I have your company, I will be OK with Joy in life- that was David’s mindset here.
In John 5, a man had been in a position of stagnancy and sickness for 38 years, waiting for moving of the water for healing, the day the presence of God appeared in the person of Jesus, he got his healing; it did not matter the protocols required for recovery. The presence of God set aside needed protocols. The experience was the same for the woman of the issue of blood, 12 years gone, the day the presence of God appeared, and she rested or trusted in the presence, the evil flow dried up Mark 5:25-30. So, notwithstanding the doctor’s report, God’s presence will settle every matter of sicknesses and diseases.
In Daniel 3, divine presence made the afflictions and persecutions of the people of God, turned to promotion, it delivered them from the pains of the heat of the fire. Before the experience, they said God can deliver them, they rested in His presence, they trusted in His presence, and he indeed showed up for them. “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king” Daniel 3:17.
David in said Psalms 84:1-7 said How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. David indicated great blessings flowing where God’s presence is,– His house.
As we go through this month, God has asked to us to rest in His presence. This means demonstrate confidence in His presence because there are untold blessings therein Obadiah 1:17 – But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions – God’s presence is revealed in mount Zion. We can have God’s presence by asking for it just like Moses did Exodus 33: 15; We can also Praise God like Paul and Silas, and he will show up with His presence Acts 16:25-26, Psalm 22:3; or we can simply trust Him according to his word Heb. 13:5. All, however, must be done in the beauty of Holiness Hab 1:13; God’s presence is far from the sinful. However, we must believe in the reality of His presence by our attitude to experience the benefits- Heb. 11:6. To rest in Him is to leave your burden at His feet when you pray; it is to live daily with His consciousness everywhere you go; it is to trust Him implicitly. Let us therefore rest in His presence as we go though this month, “For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly” Psalm 84:11.