Holy Presence

Recall what Habakkuk said in 2:20. He said, “The Lord is in His Holy Temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him.” This caught my eye as I was reading this chapter. Why is this significant? We know where we can always find the Lord, and be still and hushed in His presence. That place is His sanctuary.

Pieces of wood or stone made by humans into statues have less power than the man who carved them. They were inanimate before the carving and remained that way after the carving. The one who carved them into a shape has more power than the object. No place is holy to these objects because it has no power to make a place holy or sacred. Holiness is imbued by the character and power of a being. The only one who has this kind of power is Yahweh God. He cleanses and makes holy a place for His habitation by His decree. If we each proclaim a place clean that does not mean it actually is clean. We’ve just moved the dirt from one place to another or missed something. We do not have the power to declare something, someone, or some place clean or holy because we ourselves are sinful and unholy. We cannot even make something that is holy because of our sinfulness.

When we search for and find this place of holiness, the temple of God, we may enter. We must remember we will be in the presence of almighty, holy God. What right do we have to bring our filthy selves before Him? None, but He made a way for us to be cleansed and made holy through the sacrificial death of His Son, Jesus. Once accepting Jesus as your Savior and repenting of all your sins, you are clean. God sets you apart as His child. This setting apart is the act of “making holy.” God set apart and made His temple holy, sacred. Can you imagine the release and relief of a person who feels the weight of their dirtiness removed from their heart, mind, and soul? God’s “making holy” provides release and relief. It’s like a huge cleansing breath after being in the basement of a dank building. The sky is clean; the sun shines; the darkness departs.

Even though we tasted this cleansing, this deep breath of release and relief, why do we choose to go back to our old ways? Why do we choose to chase idols of the heart, mind, and flesh? Who would purposely choose to carry a weight on his chest bearing him down as he tried to rise from the floor every moment of the day? That is what we do when we tell our idols to awake or arise as Habakkuk said in verse 19. If we must wake our gods, they are no gods at all. They are products of our minds and hands. If they come from our hands, they have no power - no power over our present situation or our future. They cannot cleanse and make a person holy or sacred. They cannot declare a place holy. The person who made the thing is the only voice heard.

If we must wake our gods, they are no gods at all.

This then brings us back to what Habakkuk said in verse 20. The Lord is in His holy temple. We can find Him there. Always. He has breath. He is alive and doesn’t need to be awakened. The Lord created the holy temple. He has the ability and desire to make you His holy child, too. He is awake. He is aware. He is Holy and love. God wants to make you clean so you can enter His temple and come to Him.

“Come to Me all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest.” [Matthew 11:28] Only God can say that. Only He has the power do it. Only He loves you enough to offer it with no attachments, no tricks, and no requirements.

Come to God with your heavy hearts.

Come to Him with your pain.

Come to God with your broken hearts and spirit.

Come to Him with defeat and exhaustion.

Come to Holy God and find rest, cleansing, love, and hope.

Nothing created by the hands of people can give this. They have less power than the person who made them. We humans cannot make ourselves holy, give ourselves soul peace, heal pain, broken hearts, and spirit, or give refreshing rest. Human-made idols cannot give you this.  

God leaves it at that – COME.

Lord, I come to You exhausted, broken, sinful, hopeless, unloved, and filled with pain. I ask to come into Your presence. I seek your Holiness and to be in Your presence. Please cleanse me, calm and restore my soul, heal my broken heart, and give me your sweet rest. Show me my sins against you so I may repent and enter into Your presence.

1 Kings 19:11-13 - A Devotion

1 Kings 19:11-13 [NASB]
"11 So He said, "Go forth and stand on the mountain before the LORD." And behold, the LORD was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

Elijah, at this point in time, was running for his life. Queen Jezebel killed all the prophets of God, or so he thought. Elijah was hiding in the cave of a mountain then. God knew he needed to hear from Him and needed His peace. Elijah knew the LORD, knew His voice and how He had spoken to him in the past. Elijah was ready to meet with the LORD. He needed the LORD's spirit to calm him in the midst of being chased to be killed.

As most any king, God came onto the scene here with a great fanfare - strong winds that break mountains, earthquakes that tear the ground, and fires that consume all in its path. These each happened in the presence of and in front of the LORD's arrival for Elijah. Elijah knew God had great power. He was the foremost prophet of the day. God knew Elijah's need and did not meet him in His greatness, but in the quietness his soul needed.

After the fanfare, God came to Elijah in a gentle blowing, a slight wind like a whisper. God met Elijah and gave Him His peace. Elijah knew God in many of His attributes - strong, gentle, mighty, loving. God knew Elijah needed peace and gentleness. Elijah responded to God by walking into His presence at the mouth of the cave.

God knows what our spirits need, whether it is to be reminded of His might or to have our spirits comforted and calmed. Both of these ways offer reassurance to a person that God is there and in control. When God arrives, we must not shrink back into the cave to hide more, but walk to the mouth of the cave and hear the small, gentle whisper of the LORD's voice as He reassures us of His love, His power, and His peace. When we take the step toward God to hear His voice, we can not only hear the stillness and gentleness of God's whisper, but can be still and receive calm and peace. God will gentle our spirits and give us rest from our fears.

When God comes to meet you at your spirit's need, do you step forward to acknowledge Him and receive or do you continue to shrink back in fear? God meets you  at your need. Elijah needed peace and assurance. Step forward into His love, compassion, stillness, and peace. Hear the whisper of His voice. Be renewed in your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Be rewarded for your faithfulness so you will be able to continue walking forward with Him.