The Bible reveals a God who longs to live with us. It says His love for us stretches higher than the heavens are above the earth, that He is for us and that He’ll never leave or forsake us. Incredible! No wonder Paul writes to the Romans encouraging them that if God is for us, who can be against us? The obvious answer is: it doesn’t matter, for we are more than conquerors because of His great love for us! Us and God working together equals a winning team. He brings peace, hope, joy, healing, provision, guidance and the power to mend the brokenness in us and around us.
The Bible also makes it clear that God only comes where He’s invited and that His will to bless us can be resisted. He doesn’t force His way into our hearts or into our lives. Revelation 3:20 says He doesn’t even enter His church uninvited, but knocks and waits patiently for us to open the door. The same is true of the door to our hearts.
So if God is a gentleman, a guest who needs to be invited in, how do we make Him welcome and host His presence well? We can learn some great lessons from the time King David wanted God to live with him in 2 Samuel 6. The Ark of the Covenant represented the presence of God, and David saw how it blessed the people who lived with it. He decided to bring the Ark to Jerusalem where he lived, so God’s presence would be with him.
The first lesson he learned is that structure won’t carry His presence. They transported the Ark on a new cart, spending a lot of time, money and energy building it. On the way, the cart hit a rut and the Ark nearly fell out. Uzzah reached out his hand to stop it falling and died. David realised his mistake, that God had clearly told them that His priests should carry the Ark. The point is that God’s presence is carried by us, His people, not by our structures or our buildings. At the moment, River is looking to purchase a building in Maidenhead; I’m excited by this prospect as it will help us serve our community, but I also know that the building will only truly be a blessing if we continue to carry His presence and make that our priority. That’s what Jesus meant when He said, “Apart from Me you can do nothing.”
Secondly, David sacrificed offerings to God. Later he realised that the only real sacrifice the Lord requires of us is a broken & contrite heart (Psalm 51:16-17). Jesus is our sacrifice, a heart that recognises its own brokenness and need of a Saviour is the first step towards a life filled with the presence of God.
Thirdly, David worshiped by leaping and twirling and praising God. The Lord doesn’t need our worship, He commands it because He knows it does us good. When our minds are fixed on Him, filled with visions of His goodness and mercy, we get drawn heavenwards, gain heavenly perspective on life and feel better about ourselves as we receive His love. That is why River is committed to providing spaces like Sunday services, Deeper and Dwell for us to enter His presence and praise Him. Please do come and be refreshed in these worship settings, but let us worship God in our hearts as we go about each day.
Lastly, David had a generous heart. He blessed the people and gave them all food to eat. In the same way, we host God’s presence powerfully when we bless the people around us with kind words and practical help. This is exactly why we put on events like Messy Church, the Larchfield Open Table, community lunches and clubs for children and youth. We serve in these ways because we are mindful that every person is made in His image and worthy of honour. In what ways might you demonstrate generosity this week? What kind of prophetic words might you say to strengthen another’s heart? What practical act of kindness might you do to bring a smile to someone’s face?
Do these things and we will host God’s presence in our hearts, homes and communities, and they will be blessed!
