All of you are standing today in the presence of the Lord your God—your leaders and chief men, your elders and officials, and all the other men of Israel. Deuteronomy 29:10

There’s this interesting little phrase that continues to repeat itself throughout the Old Testament. I’ve been reading through the book of Joshua in my personal  Bible reading and kept running across it, so I decided to do a little exploration.  The phrase is “the presence of the LORD.”  Basically, for the believer in the Old Testament, the presence of God was tied to a specific location- the tabernacle which was a portable worship tent built while Israel was journeying through the wilderness and then later set up at a little town in central Israel called Shiloh.  During the time of King Solomon a permanent worship spot for the nation was constructed in the capital city of Jerusalem and called, appropriately, the Temple.  If you REALLY wanted to encounter God in a fresh and meaningful way, you had to go to “the presence of the LORD” at the temple.  

So, if you were feeling particular thankful and wanted to celebrate God’s goodness by sharing a great meal with family and friends- go and celebrate “in the presence of the Lord” at the temple.  If you wanted to offer a sacrifice for your sin- you had to go “to the presence of the LORD” and make it right.  If you had a big decision to make, go stand “in the presence of the LORD” and He’d help you out. Ditto, if you had a dispute- drag the two parties “into the presence of the LORD.”  It was in the “presence of the LORD” that things really happened, God’s power or comfort was experienced and people stayed connect to God. In fact, there were three yearly feasts in which Jews were required to travel to the temple to stand “in the presence of the LORD.” I’m sure that kept travel agents and frequent flyer miles programs plenty busy.  

The New Testament paints a very different picture for believers today.  Through our union with Christ our very bodies are the sacred dwelling place of God.  Paul reminds believers who were struggling with immoral relationships in 1 Corinthians 6:19 “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit?” And Jesus said that for those who enter into a relationship of love and obedience with him “My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:23) We no longer have to travel to a temple or church to visit God; his presence is not found in a cathedral but in us!

However, many Christians fail to acknowledge that God’s presence is within them.  The enemy has conned them into believing that they are in some way separated, distant or unworthy to be “in the presence of the LORD.”  Is it any wonder then that they feel isolated, alone, powerless or overwhelmed by sin or circumstances of life? 

“God is with me.”  

Sometimes I repeat this over and over again when I face particularly challenging situations.  I stand in the presence of the LORD 24/7; he does not condemn or treat me like a burden, disappointment or nuisance. In fact, Jesus came for the very purpose of making this intimate relationship possible. 

I stand in the presence of the LORD.  It’s a great place to be.