Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
5/20/2022
The Man with God in his house.
Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence. —Psalm 42:5 NASB
Jesus Calling said it another way; "Focus on enjoying Me and all that I am to you—even though your circumstances scream for resolution. Refuse to obsess about your problems and how you are going to fix them. Instead, affirm your trust in Me; wait hopefully in My Presence, and watch to see what I will do".
I love Ps 32. For I shall praise Him for the help of his presence. Just the presence of God brings hope. What are you struggling with today? What is screaming at you for resolution? I have a few things to run through this filter of “His presence” as I recall the story of Obed Edom
“And the ark of God remained with the household of Obed-edom in his house three months. And the LORD blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that he had.” (1 Chronicles 13:14).
Backdrop: In the Old Testament days, the Ark of the Covenant was understood to be the presence of God among His people. When the Ark was present, the people knew God was with them. A day came, however, when the Philistines captured the Ark and carried it away. The Ark was with the Philistines but they had no place in their hearts for the true God. Great tribulation came upon them because they had taken the Ark of the Covenant from God's people, so they eventually sent it back to the Israelites. When the Ark came back to God’s people and they attempted to move it in an inappropriate way, a man named Uzzah touched the Ark and died. They found a farm nearby and asked to leave the Ark with them for a while.
Is your home open to the Lord?
This is an important question, for it is one thing to worship God in church on Sunday and another thing altogether to serve Him in your everyday affairs at home. Isn’t that a penetrating statement and maybe even convicting to some of us? IN MY HOME?
Imagine 30,000 soldiers with the king coming to your house. Probably a humble farmhouse in the country. So King David comes to his door and tells him the story and wants him to keep the Ark in his home! WHOA– What? Really? Can you just hear his wife? What if one of the children gets near it?
Is there ever a time that isn’t right for the Light of the Lord?
Can you imagine how they felt, looking at the brilliance and sparkle of the Ark of the Covenant? It probably lit up the night with its grandeur. But I can only imagine how the light of God's presence lit up their hearts in their home. Jesus said I am the light of the world. Look at the world today and the darkness they are living in and speaking out of their mouths. Families wandering in the dark. Literally and spiritually. This was an opportunity Obed did not ask for. Who could even pray for such a thing to happen? I do not know and it does not say what kind of man Obed was. Or if his home was in order and his children obedient in honoring their parents. Nothing.
But it causes me to think that when God knocks at your door and asks to come in, he didn’t qualify you for having it all together. The perfect marriage, children all walking uprightly before God. No matter who you are, where you’ve been, or how small you feel you are,
God loves and cares for you individually.
The Word of God. The Ark contained the 10 commandments. The word of God. Obed had welcomed the word of God into his house. Is God’s word held in high esteem in your home? When something is welcomed into your home, it is honored, reverenced, and respected. Is that how you would describe your relationship with the word of God?
Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence. —Psalm 42:5 NASB
The help of His presence is in you. He is the Holy Spirit sent to you to be your counselor and friend. Perhaps you have forgotten the Obed Edom story and the blessings that came on his home because of the presence of the Ark. The presence of God himself. We have that! We are reborn and filled with His presence. How are you caring for the Ark of His Presence in your life and in your home, as a father…a parent…a grandparent, or a guardian. Our children need that example. They need that structure and loving hand guiding them in obedience to God's life handbook.
Lord help me today to remember who you are! To remember what you did for me. To remember that as I praise you I unleash the power of your presence in my life and my home. Help me today to make you my focus and to invite you into my home.
Tomorrow is part II of Obed Edom's blessing on his home.
The Blessing with Kari Jobe & Cody Carnes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp6aygmvzM4
Excerpts are taken from The Man With God In His House By J. Mike Minnix
