In His Presence

Numbers 9: 15-17, "Now on the day that the tabernacle was raised up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the Testimony; from evening until morning it was above the tabernacle like the appearance of fire. 16 So it was always: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. 17 Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, after that the children of Israel would journey; and in the place where the cloud settled, there the children of Israel would pitch their tents."

This was a visible representation of the spirit of God > every move that God made, the people responded…this is the life a Christian should live! Our part is to value God’s presence, we do this 3 ways:

1. We deliberately meet with God > through attending church / prayer / devotion
2. We arrange our lives around God's presence! Matt. 6: 33 - 'Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness...'
3. We make decisions with God's will in mind! God must be considered in everything we do...it's bad enough when we make decisions and not include our spouse...let alone Father God!



The point here in the scripture is that God will guide you and I just as He did the children of Israel. This is going to mean, we must maintain our focus and make right decisions.  Don’t forget the main thought here – when God moves, you move, when He stays, you stay! Be encouraged, He is not leaving you on your own…in the decisions of your life, God says, ‘I want to help you!’

People who stay close to God have a greater chance of making good decisions!

Jas. 4: 8 - "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded."

Psalm 32:8  - I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.

Just look at the pillar of the cloud - practically we find 2 things here:

a. God's will is revealed one step at a time
b. God can only guide you when you're obedient. The children of Israel moved when God was moving, and stayed when He decided to stay...they didn't move without Him, or refuse to move when He did...we can learn a lot from this!

Now, let's examine the pillar of Fire? What does it mean?  My friends, it is the pillar of Protection!

This pillar of fire was first seen when the Israelites were up against the Red Sea and Pharaoh's army was bearing down on them...here's the what the bible says

Exo. 14: 19 – 20, And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. 20 So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.

God will protect His people - He will also protect His will! His will was that His people would make it to the Promised Land...no devil in hell could stop that!

So, the saying is true - the Safest place on earth is in the middle of God's will...whenever you find yourself on the outskirts of His will...there are no guarantees.

People visit with me often, and they speak about struggling...granted, I haven't seen them in church or fellowship for weeks / months on end. However, I don't believe they understand what it means to struggle...

Picture with me: If you were wrestling someone, trying to pin them, and they are trying to pin you - no one is conceding so you can naturally say, 'You are in a struggle with them.' Right? Well, if you equate this to Kingdom living and you don't attend church regularly, you don't pray, nor worship, nor give, nor fellowship, and you don't read your bible - sir / ma'am, that's not struggling, that's DEFEAT...

My point is, being in God's will is linked to obedience and devotion to Him...do you value His presence? Do you want to see the glory of God revealed in your life and the life of your family? Do what He says!

Luke 6: 46 - "Why do you call Me Lord, when you refuse to do what I ask?"