DWELLING IN HIS PRESENCE

For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling place: This is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it. I will abundantly bless her provision; I will satisfy her poor with bread. I will also clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints shall shout aloud for joy. (Psalm 132:13-16)

God’s dwelling place is always filled with His presence, and He has an unyielding desire to share this presence with His people. Everything that He has been doing with us throughout the ages has been to prepare us as His permanent home. 

Although the Lord had been with the Israelites in the desert, He promised Moses that His presencewould also go with them into Canaan. Israel had continually dwelt in the presence of God, but few of them seemed to have recognized it, although He was visible in the Pillar of Fire above them every night and in the Pillar of Cloud above them every day! We must learn to discern the presence of the Lord which is always with us.

There are a great number of scriptures which tell us that the Lord lives in Zion. Zion is more than an earthly location; it is where the people of God are. Our God gives us these promises: “I will abundantly bless her provision; I will satisfy her poor with bread. I will also clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints shall shout aloud for joy” (Psalm 132:13-16). In His presence is His provision! Therefore, whatever you may need is found only in Him.

David says, “in Your presence is fullness of joy.”  He would often go into the tabernacle that he had erected and sit before the Ark of the Covenant, which is also known as the Ark of the Presence. We, on the other hand, need not go to a physical place to find God’s presence. He has made it eternally available to us through Jesus Christ, His Son. When Jesus came into your heart, the Person and presence of God came to dwell with and in you forever!  How great is this? He has promised to never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). What is there left for us but to enjoy His presence forever!