Where is He?
Today’s Verse:
I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer. ~Song of Solomon 5:6
Have you ever had an event where there was a gathering of people and when it is ready to start someone says “who’s not here? Or someone’s missing?” Has there been a time in your life or service for God when you knew the Lord was missing? The Shunammite said, “my beloved had withdrawn himself and was gone…I sought him, but I could not find him.”
There is the hurtful realization.
The Shunammite was devastated, hurt and shocked to discover that her beloved was nowhere to be found. It is the same feeling when we realize the Lord is missing in our lives. By this, I am referring to the blessing of His presence and power is not there. We realize it when our prayers go unanswered for lengthy periods of time. We realize it when our devotional time is dry. We realize it when whatever we touch or do is not successful. We realize it when the relationships in our life are in upheaval. When the Lord’s presence is not with us, we are in a precarious place in life.
There are the honest reasons.
The first reason the Lord’s presence is missing may be because of defilement in our lives. Is there unconfessed sin? Are we harboring grudges and an unforgiving spirit against others? Is there a secret sin that we are holding on to? Are there relationships we are holding to that are taking us away from God? The second reason the Lord’s presence is missing may be because of duplicity in our lives. Are we living a double life? Do our words and practices match up? The third reason may be because of distance in our life. Could it be we are the ones who have moved? Have we moved in our devotion? Have we moved away from an honest devotion time? There could be other reasons, but we must face the fact that the problem is always on our part and not the Lord’s.
There is the happy restoration.
Well, when we know God’s presence is missing, the good news is that we can have a happy restoration. There must be confession of our sin and our absence from God. There must be a commitment to daily communion with God. There needs to be times when we schedule extended seasons for prayer and Bible reading. There must be the restoration of the altar of our life. There must be a diligent focus on the Spirit walk. We must get back to the place where we love to be in the presence of the Lord and we are ready at any time to be in his presence.
Did you open the door of your life to the Lord this morning and noticed He was missing? Are you diligently serving Him, but His touch seems to be gone? Let’s seek to have the blessing of His presence, preeminence, and power restored fully in our lives.
Have an enriched God morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Ezekiel 40-42