There is nothing like moving into a new place. You walk through the house or apartment scoping out each room. The place is barren and even echoes a little. There's a sense of excitement. You start imagining where everything goes. You can't wait any longer. The boxes start getting piled in the floor. The furniture starts coming and begins to find its place. The beds go up. Curtains get hung. Before long, it's home. You look around and you're feeling pretty good.
If you happen to have your new home built, it's even more fun to watch everything come together. The foundation is poured. The frame goes up. The roof goes on. The shingles cover. The wallboard is hung. Slowly the finishing touches are carefully completed. With the flooring finally down, it's time to move in. It's amazing. It's fantastic. It's home.
I'm sure that's how the Israelites must have felt. The Tabernacle finally finished and erected for the first time had to be a spectacular sight. The crowd is buzzing with excitement. Everything is dedicated. But nothing could have been more thrilling than to watch God move in. The cloud that had been directing them by day moved over the tent of meeting and settled upon it. The presence of God was so overwhelming, that Moses couldn't enter. And when darkness fell, the pillar of fire that guided them by night rested above the holy of holies. What a dramatic image!
The texts says that as long as the cloud remained on the Tabernacle, the people remained encamped. But when the cloud lifted they packed up and followed it's lead. Wouldn't it be nice to have that kind of direction in your life, to have sign from God on what your are to do next, to guide you step by step through life? The good news is that if you're a believer in Jesus, you have the same access to that kind of direction. The moment you became a believer in Christ, God placed his Holy Spirit in your being.
When Jesus was baptized by John, the presence of God's Spirit was visible in a way similar to the cloud descending on the Tabernacle. As Jesus came up out of the water, God's Spirit descended upon Him as a dove. No, a real dove didn't land on Jesus' head. It was the Spirit of God in a visible sense. I've never witnessed this phenomena when I've baptized people, nor have I ever heard a voice from heaven. But of the hundreds of people that I've baptized, I know that according to God's promise, everyone of them have received the Spirit of God.
If everyone who is a believer in Christ, who have been baptized into Christ as the Bible says, has the Spirit of God taking up residence in their life, why is that we are often so confused about which direction to go? The Holy Spirit will always direct you if you are careful to listen and focus on Him. That requires aligning your life, your will, your actions, your thoughts, your agenda, your values with His.
God, thanks for moving into my life, my being when I became yours. Forgive me when I quench your Spirit's activity. Guide me. Direct me. Flow through me. Enliven me. Allow others to sense your presence in me.
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