God Invites Us to Spend Time in His Presence

“Then God said to Moses, ‘Come up to the Lord.’” Exodus 24:1



God’s invitation to come is different than any other persons invitation we will ever receive. We may come up with all kinds of excuses to reject someone's invitation to do what they want, but when God invites us to come, this is categorically different. When God invites us to come, it is as if a king is inviting a pauper to dine at his fancy banquet table to enjoy the choicest of foods. Hello, it’s a no-brainer!

What an incredible opportunity this was for Moses! He had already experienced the burning bush. He had seen God bring plagues to the people of Egypt and deliver the Israelites. He had seen God bring water from a rock and manna from heaven. Here, God is inviting Moses to spend some one-on-one time in His presence. No one in the Old Testament had more meetings with the Lord than Moses.

We, as followers of Christ, because of His provision, can experience His manifest presence every single day. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.” James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” The invitation is always open for us to come, to experience His presence.

We read in Exodus 24:15 that when Moses went up to be with the Lord, the glory of God settled there. To the Israelites at the bottom of the mountain, the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire. It says that Moses stayed on that mountain for 40 days and nights. 

God wants to reveal Himself to you. God wants to say to you, as He said to Moses long ago, “Come up to the Lord.” God is saying, “Seek Me. Spend time with Me. Encounter Me. Linger here. Experience My manifest presence.”

Longings

Last week, I had a lot of time to sit, think, pray and spend time with Jesus. I was deer hunting. Considering I didn't see many deer, I had a lot of solitude and idle time because I wasn't looking at deer through binoculars, or getting my gun ready to pull the trigger, or even following a blood trail through the woods. When you sit, in the middle of the woods, it is very easy to connect with God and hear His voice. There are no distractions. It is peaceful. It is quiet. This is a formula for personal renewal.

As I sat in the stand, the Lord quickened my heart with His word from Psalm 42:1. Of all things, this happens to be a passage that speaks of deer. The verse says, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, my God." As I sat and reflected about this verse, there was one principle the Lord was teaching me.

I sat and considered the analogy of this verse. Since taking up deer hunting, I have learned a lot about the habits of these animals. Deer get up from their bedding to eat and drink. They will move for miles in order to fulfill their need of hunger and thirst. Deer are known to settle down near a river because water is a necessity to keep them going. Out of all the analogies the Psalmist could have used here, he used the deer and their longing for hydration.

The Psalmist used this analogy as a description for his own personal longing for the Lord. The Lord used this verse, in my heart, as a barometer for my own passion and longing for Jesus. One of the litmus tests for a person's passion for Jesus can be found in how they treat corporate worship in singing. Is worship a time to read the lyrics to a song or is worship a time to give our all and to exalt the name of Jesus? Is worship a time to day dream about Sunday lunch or do we long for the manifest presence of God? There are many things in this life that can get a person excited in anticipation. I was reminded of the anticipation I was having in waiting for a deer to walk out in front of my stand. I wanted so badly to see a large buck come out. The Lord inspired the question in me, "Do I anticipate being in the presence of the Lord just as much?" This was a convicting question.

God was challenging me to anticipate meeting Jesus each and every day, and especially on Sunday. The description the Psalmist uses is a longing. We all long for something. Some fill that longing with the wrong things such as money, sports, popularity, sex or alcohol. The only Person who can satisfy the longing we all have deep down inside of us is Jesus Christ.

Jesus, in a conversation with the woman at the well, talks about the satisfaction we receive from Him in John 4:14. Jesus says, "Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Jesus is the living water. Anytime we come into His presence, He will satisfy every longing that we have.

Do you long for His presence?  Do you long for more of Jesus in your life? May we take the example of the deer as we seek to satisfy the longing that we have. Only Jesus can truly satisfy. Seek Him. Spend time with Him. Receive Him. Live for Him.