Show me Your Glory
July 1, 2013
I’ve been studying in Exodus for Sunday School the last few weeks, and I must admit that there is something about their world that I’m jealous of. That might sound pretty crazy because at the beginning of Exodus, the people of Israel are slaves. Then they are freed from slavery through a series of miraculous events. That sounds like a happy ending, until you read on and discover that, due to their own inability to have faith in God, they spend the next 40 years wandering around in the desert. What’s more, there’s about a million of them, literally, living in tents, wandering from place to place, eating the same thing every day that falls from the sky every morning. You might think, “That really doesn’t sound like much to be jealous of Lora.” Well, here’s the deal….. God’s presence was tangible. He led them by a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night. When the people built Him a tabernacle to live in, His presence filled the tabernacle, and a cloud surrounded it by day and there was fire in the cloud at night. When the cloud lifted, they all followed. They could physically see where God was all the time. If they got to wondering where God was, they could just look at the tabernacle and see that He’s still there, and that they were still where they were supposed to be. That’s what I’m jealous of. Sometimes I wish that there was a cloud in front of my house, and all I had to do was follow the cloud. Chuckle. It’s rather an amusing thought on the surface, but surely I’m not the only one that wishes it was that clear cut and simple! Sometimes I simply need the presence of God to be visible and tangible.
Here’s my question for you. (And I hope that you will post your answers here.) Where do you look when you want that same reminder of the presence of God? Where in your life do you see the glory of God revealed in a tangible way? I’m looking forward to reading your answers, and in a few days, I’ll post my own answer.
answered prayers, not necessarily huge blessing, but the communication I experience with God.like when I pray to God and ask questions or give him my concerns and he very specifically answers my questions or comforts me through my circumstances, a sermon, or bible study or person. there’s an overwhelming sense of peace during these times and I know it is God leading me. it is one of the best feelings.
I see (or actually feel) the glory of God when, in the middle of a huge struggle, I feel peace, for no real reason. I’m still struggling, I still don’t have an answer to my situation, I still don’t understand, I still feel anger and sometimes worry, but all of a sudden I feel God’s peace and even a measure of joy kinda creeps into my heart, and it is wonderful. God always knows when I need these times with Him. I think it is His way of reminding me that He is in control, and I am not. 🙂
Thanks for posting this Lora. I inadvertently look to the body of Christ when I’m suffering. Since I have a solid community of believers… I’m frequently reminded by God’s goodness and faithfulness through other brothers and sisters. His glory shines through! Praise the Lord!
To answer your question, I experience God in tangible ways when I, in the middle of a struggle like what happened 2 days ago, I push out or cast down the negative, destructive thoughts in my head that are totally opposite of God revealed in His Word, and I begin to meditate on how much He loves me, what the Father did for me in the person of Jesus Christ, then I just whisper “Jesus, Jesus”, making myself very still with focus on Him. In those moments I literally feel my Father God wrap those huge loving arms around me and my soul begins to calm and quiet down. I then just know that everything that is happening is filtered through His hands; and in His way, in His time He shows me what He’s up to! My part is to keep my focus on Jesus and read His Word, the sword of the Spirit!! Eph 6:17
It was hard for me to formulate this answer and I realized Belinda that I am experiencing that same emotion. It’s like I feel God’s presence just when something I’m struggling with becomes resolved. For me it’s like during the in between when I am struggling it’s harder to feel God’s presence, but just like Belinda said, once the struggle has been relieved in some way I too feel peace and there is no real reason just this knowing that He is there with me always.
When one reads their Bible, they find how He is present in so many ways, a pillar of fire and dust, they are visible, however the warmth of His love is a feeling that no one can take away. The Israelite’s, they were slaves many more generations than they were free, so how do we in our 40 some years, plus or minus of us, wandering this world have trudged through the mire doing the same thing day in and day out? Do we even look for Him or expect Him to just appear at our whim, where do we put our priorities? Our daily grind of the ever turning cog in the wheel. It takes effort, desire, discipline and a willing friend to make us accountable to be His child. Tangible, reminds me of a tangerine….it comes in a season, it is protected by a covering, once it is revealed it is sweet, our tangible moment will be the sweet taste of heaven, until that day, faith and only faith will get us through our “40” years.