March 17th - Psalm 27:4

Psalm 27:4 In about the year 1050 BC King David established Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. One of the first things he did was to take the Ark of the Covenant to the city. God had given specific instructions to Moses for the construction of the Ark of the Covenant and it was here that God dwelt among his people. During the years of the wilderness wanderings, the Ark was placed in a tabernacle or large tent. It contained the two stone tablets brought down from Mount Sinai by Moses on which were written the Ten Commandments. David took the Ark to Jerusalem and placed it in a tent with great ceremony and wild dancing. Celebrating the presence of God meant so much to him that David longed for a temple to be built in Jerusalem. He went to huge lengths to prepare for it to be built. However, this wouldn’t happen until the reign of his son Solomon. We live at a very different time and now, because of the gift of the Holy Spirit, we know that we can worship God anywhere, at any time. We are not tied down to one particular location. However, in this psalm David reflects that life is at its best when we are living in the presence of God. Being near to him is more important than anything else. This thinking is reflected in Jesus’ teaching to his disciples where he described himself as the vine and we as the branches. He said that what mattered before anything else was that we should abide in him, because: “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Attending church events or Christian festivals is a wonderful thing to do. We can gain enormous encouragement and inspiration from meeting with other Christians. But God’s desire is for us to experience his presence every day of the week, whether we are with other Christians or not. He wants us to know his companionship when we are at work, relaxing with friends, playing sport, on holiday – whatever we are doing. Nothing is better than living in the presence of God. Question In what ways do you experience the presence of God in your everyday life? Prayer Loving God, thank you that you want me to experience your presence with me in every aspect of my life. Amen