Daily Devotional
The Weight of God’s Presence
Text: Matthew 25:23
If Your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.
Message:
A promised land without God’s presence is still a wilderness.
After Israel sinned with the golden calf, God made an astonishing promise to Moses.
He told him the people would still inherit the Promised Land.
They would still receive the blessing.
They would still possess the land flowing with milk and honey.
But there was one difference.
God Himself would not go with them.
For many people, that would have been enough.
A prosperous future.
Answered prayers.
Protection from enemies.
Everything they had hoped for.
Without God.
But Moses refused the offer.
He answered,
If Your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.
Moses understood something every believer must learn.
The greatest gift God gives is not His blessings. It is Himself.
Too often, we reverse the order. We seek God’s hand before we seek His face.
We pray for open doors more than open hearts.
We pursue the gifts while neglecting the Giver.
We become more excited about what God can do than about simply being with Him.
But imagine receiving every earthly success while slowly losing your intimacy with Christ.
Would that truly be success?
Would a larger bank account replace His peace?
Would a promotion satisfy the longing only His presence can fill?
Would influence be worth it if it cost your fellowship with Him?
Moses had his priorities right.
He would rather remain in the wilderness with God than enter the Promised Land without Him.
That is the heart of true worship.
The mature believer eventually reaches a place where the greatest prayer is no longer,
“Lord, bless me.” It becomes, “Lord, don’t let me live one day without You.”
Because God’s presence is what turns ordinary places into holy ground.
It was His presence in the burning bush.
His presence in the tabernacle.
His presence in the upper room.
And today, through Christ, His presence dwells with all who belong to Him.
Never allow God’s blessings to become more precious than God Himself.
The greatest treasure of the Christian life has never been what God gives, it has always been that God gives Himself.
Prayer :
Father,
Forgive me for the times I have desired Your blessings more than Your presence.
Teach me to treasure You above every opportunity, every success, and every earthly gift.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
St. Matthew 10:19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. St. Matthew 10:20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.
Loneliness because you belong to Jesus Christ is the price you pay to build yourself up, and the greatest thing you can build is yourself in Him, with you decreasing and Him increasing in your life that His glory in you may be made manifest.
Truth is, “The mind does not fear the truth first. It fears the life the truth will demand. That is why denial feels calm. It postpones a decision, not a consequence.” No wonder we get the wages of sin, which is death.
Believers should understand that sometimes our prayers are answered but the answer is No!
In other word, “You cannot think your way into becoming the person only your actions can introduce. When the storm beats the tree, many birds fly away—but the one that remains through the thunder is the one that truly calls it home.”
Is sin not attractive to you?
Sin keeps inviting you, “Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you’ll be able to see further, for you are a magnet for success and opportunities.”
Beloved, all that ends in this world. You will soon discovered, albeit too late that all that gilliters are not gold, and that vanity upon vanity, is a life lived without Jesus Christ.
Remember that one day you will wake up and do things for the last time without knowing it’s the last time. The sleep or that going out or coming in, eating, fighting, quarrelling etc will look normal, yet will be the last time! Nothing extra ordinary except that you would have said good night on the earthly side and find yourself woke up on the otherside of the terrestrial. There you have welcome to your eternity in heaven or hell, on the right or left side of Jesus who you obeyed or betrayed, condemned, rejected and ignored when you had the opportunity to accept on earth.
Unfortunately, you cannot and have not the luxury of a repeat journey! Then you will remember the saying that, “Most betrayals begin long before trust is broken. They begin the day curiosity ends. The moment someone believes they no longer need to understand you, they begin speaking to a memory instead of a person.”
Accept and follow Jesus now.
