We read in Jonah 2:4,"Then I thought, 'I have been banished from your sight. Will I ever see your holy temple again?' (GW)
After Jonah was swallowed by the big fish that God prepared, Jonah spent three turbulent days and nights in the belly of that fish. At the end of those three days, Jonah cried out to the Lord, and the above verse is part of the thoughts that filled Jonah’s mind. The feeling that overtook Jonah was one of being banished from the sight of God, and His presence. Jonah knew that by his disobedience he had gone far from the presence of God. It was at this time that Jonah pondered if he would ever get to be in God’s temple again, to be back in God’s presence and to listen to God’s word.
As Jonah tarried in the fish’s belly, there was no way he could tell where he was, or the direction the fish was swimming. In those days, the Israelites had the habit of kneeling and praying towards Jerusalem, but Jonah had no clue as to where he was. In spite of this, Jonah decided to look towards God’s temple and call upon Him. Before this incident, Jonah had everything that he could ask for, the presence of God and the word of God, but Jonah did not value any of it. Jonah had to be in a dark and gloomy place, before he understood all that he had forfeited by his disobedience and rebellion.
In recent times, because of the pandemic, we had a hindrance to go to church and worship together. However, even when the lockdown was lifted, there are still many who are hesitant to go back to church. Jonah did not realize the importance of God’s presence until he lost it. So also we must be cautious, and must make the best use of opportunities to come together to worship God, and be in fellowship with one another, thereby enjoying His presence. The presence of God is vital for us as believers, and it is our privilege and duty to worship the Lord together.
When God sent Moses to Pharaoh and instructed that the people of Israel be freed, the reason was that they be set free to worship God in His holy mountain. So also, when God redeemed us from the bondage of sin, He set us free so we could worship Him, individually and collectively. Often we do not comprehend all the blessings that are ours, until we are actually deprived of them.
Let us study the lives of some people in the bible, who like Jonah called on the Lord after a season of rebellion or disobedience and longed for God’s presence in their lives.
The prayer of Samson
We read in Judges 16:28, “And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember member me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.” (ERV)
In the above mentioned prayer Samson pleaded with God to have mercy on him, for just one last time. There were many other times when he had taken God’s grace for granted, and continued his life of sin. Samson constantly indulged in sinful activities that did not please the Lord until he came to a point of no return.
We read in Judges 16:20, Then she shouted, "Samson! The Philistines are coming!" He woke up and thought, "I'll get loose and go free, as always." He did not know that the LORD had left him. (GNB)
The above mentioned verse is one that truly grieves my heart. Samson had given his heart to Delilah, and she nagged Samson into telling her the secret to his strength. She had now made Samson weak and vulnerable, so that the Philistines could come and capture Samson with ease. Samson woke up and thought that he could prevail like other times, not knowing that the Spirit of the Lord had departed from him. Every time Samson kept sinning, the chords of sin that entangled him became stronger, but he was unaware of it. Samson was captured, tortured by the Philistines who gouged his eyes out, and made him grind flour in prison. It was in this time of total desperation that Samson cried out to the Lord for succor.
We too must understand that God’s patience does not mean we can go on sinning. God extends His grace to us because He longs that His children whom He has created should turn back to Him. Whenever we sin, we must always turn back to God with repentance, always seeking to abide in the presence of the Lord. God’s presence alone will lead us, guide us, counsel us and protect us. We should always live in the awareness of the Holy Spirit of God and His presence in our lives every single day. If we do so, we will be triumphant and accomplish all that God wants to do in and through us.
The Spirit of the Lord left Saul
We read in 1 Samuel 10:1, “Samuel took a flask of olive oil, poured it on Saul's head, kissed him, and said, "The LORD has anointed you to be ruler of his people Israel. You will rule his people and save them from all their enemies. This will be the sign that the LORD has anointed you to be ruler of his people.” (GW)
When Saul went searching for his father’s donkeys that were lost, he was found by Samuel who anointed him to be king over Israel. God had instructed the prophet Samuel to anoint Saul king. This was the great privilege that God granted to Saul.
We also read in 1 Samuel 10:10, “When Saul came to the hill, a group of prophets came to meet him, and God's Spirit came over him. He prophesied with them.” (GW)
As soon as Saul was anointed as king, the Spirit of the Lord rested on him so that he also prophesied along with the other prophets. Nonetheless, Saul did not honor God as he should have, and disobeyed the commands of God.
The consequence of this action is recorded in 1 Samuel 16:14, “Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul,…”(ESV) When the presence of God departed from Saul, he also lost the kingly authority that God had entrusted to him.
When the people of Israel wanted to have a king rule over them, the first man whom God chose and appointed was Saul. However, Saul did not comprehend the privilege and honor that was entrusted to him, and chose to disobey God, which ultimately led to his downfall. God forsook Saul, and chose David whom God testified was a man after His own heart.
Moses’ prayer
We read in Exodus 33:15-16, Then Moses said to him, "If your presence is not going [with us], don't make us leave this place. How will anyone ever know you're pleased with your people and me unless you go with us? Then we will be different from all other people on the face of the earth."(GW)
Moses understood the significance of God’s presence in his life. Moses knew that the nations outside of Israel would never know that God was pleased with His people, if He failed to go along with them. Moses realized that the presence of God with him, and the Israelites, was what set them apart from others, and made them a special people.
Often we take the presence of God for granted, but we must sincerely seek God’s presence in our personal lives, our families and when we come together as a church. The bible refers to our bodies as the temple of the Holy Spirit, and it is the presence of God’s Spirit in us that makes us special. It is this presence of God that sets us apart from those around us, and distinguishes us. This was what made Daniel outstanding too, and the result was that Daniel found favor in the eyes of kings whom he served. As God’s children we can afford to lose out on anything, but we should never ever miss out on the presence of God and His promptings, for only then can we live wisely, and everything we do will prosper.
God replied Moses
In Exodus 33:17, we read, “And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.”(ERV)
This was the assurance that God gave Moses that He would certainly go with him. If Moses who was part of the Old Covenant received this guarantee from God, how much more confident can we be, as members of the new covenant that the presence of God is a surety for us.
The prayer of David
David prayed this way in Psalm 51:11, “Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.” (ERV)
David too pleaded with God for His presence, and this was why he did so. As David continued to rise in his power as king of Israel, at one point, he committed a grave sin, which he tried to cover by committing many other sins. David continued without any remorse, until he was confronted by the prophet Nathan. Only then, David was filled with fear, and not only did he confess his sins to the Lord, he begged God that he should not be cast away from God’s presence. He also appealed to God that He should not take away His Holy Spirit from his life. David knew without a doubt that it was God’s presence that made all the difference in his life, and set him apart from those in his kingdom.
We looked at the lives of Jonah, Samson, Saul, David, Moses all of whom prayed to God only when they did wrong or for the wrong of others like Moses did. Jonah disobeyed God and was going in the opposite direction. Samson lost focus of his calling and continued in a life of sin. Saul disobeyed God and did those things that God forbade him to do. David in the heights of his glory, sinned and displeased God. Moses was pleading with God on behalf of the Israelites who sinned against God. All of them knew the value of God’s presence, but in the weakness of their flesh, they did things that hurt and displeased God.
The Lord wants us to live in constant awareness of His presence in our lives. We should make it our goal to never displease the Lord under any circumstance. It is important that we continuously abide in the presence of God. Where the presence of God is, we can be sure that there is liberty and there is real blessings.
The prayer of Jesus on the cross
Let me place before you some of the words of Jesus that He spoke from the cross.
We read in Luke 23:34, Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing." Meanwhile, the soldiers divided his clothes among themselves by throwing dice. (GW)
These are the words of Jesus as He hung on the cross where He called out to the Father in heaven, and asked Him to forgive those who falsely accused, and crucified Him to the cross of Calvary.
Again in Matthew 27:46, we read, And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (ERV)
While in the first instance Jesus cried out to the Father, in the second we see that Jesus was calling out to God. Jesus declared that He and the Father were one, made it very clear that He came down to do the will of the Father, but at this point there was a reason why Jesus was calling out to God the Father. When God laid the sins of the whole world on Jesus, and as Jesus bore the intensity of mankind’s sins on himself, He was so overwhelmed, that He called out to God feeling completely forsaken by Him.
As children of God we need to be remind ourselves that the people in the Old Testament cried out to God in desperation, pleading that God should not take His presence or His Holy Spirit away from them. However, for those of us who believe in the Lord Jesus, there is no need for us to do so. This is only because Jesus took our sins, and the punishment for what was duly ours on Himself. Jesus has thereby purchased for us redemption, and freedom from sin. Those of us who live in these days, must be thankful to the Lord that the sacrifices for our sins was paid by Jesus on the cross of Calvary. We have the blessed assurance of being in the presence of the Lord forever, because of what Jesus did for us.
Let me share two verses from you before I conclude.
We read in Hebrews 4:15-16, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”(ESV)
All those who were part of the Old Covenant before Jesus came, were pleading with God for His presence. However, those of us who are part of the New Covenant of the Lord Jesus have the assurance of God’s eternal presence in our lives. The Lord Jesus is our high priest who was tempted in every point just like us, but was still without sin. Jesus is our high priest who is still interceding with God the Father on our behalf. He perfectly understands all our weaknesses. Whenever we stumble, we can come boldly to the throne of grace, and be sure that we will receive God’s mercy, find grace and receive help in our time of need. If we do so, the Lord Jesus will help us to overcome, and come forth victorious. No matter where we may be, we can come boldly to God’s throne of mercy, and we will certainly find that His grace is more than sufficient for us. The Lord knows everything about us, our weaknesses, our strengths, our failures, our circumstances and He will lift us out of all those difficult situations. Let us seek the presence of God above everything else, and may we remain in the presence of God wherever we are, and whatever we are doing. May the presence of the Lord fill our lives and our homes, and may this be evident to everyone around us.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by: Sis. Esther Collins
