Desire His Presence

The tent flap waved as Moses left the tabernacle and made his way back to camp. Inside sat Joshua. How long he had been in the tabernacle, he could not remember. Time was the farthest thing from him. Jehovah was the closest.

His presence dripped on Joshua like honey off a comb. Layer after layer oozed down upon his head and ran to his feet, as if he was swallowed in a never-ending pool of joy and peace.

Joshua was a man who had an earnest desire for the presence of God. The words of the psalmist may very well have applied to how Joshua felt while sitting in the tabernacle (Exodus 33:11).

“As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” -Psalm 42:1-2

You can see from both Joshua and the psalmist the hunger they had to know God—to truly know Him. They were not satisfied with an intellectual knowledge of God, nor were they mere scholars of His writings.

Their hearts beckoned and called out to know their Creator with each beat. There was not one thing in the world which could satisfy the deep longing of their souls like Jehovah.

And as the pushed away the cares of life, the endless tasks, the chores, the grocery lists, etc., and set their eyes upon God—they found Him.

How?

Because those who have truly sought God have never failed to find Him. They’ve never failed to hear His voice, to know His peace and comfort, or experience His joy.

And if that is not our daily reality, it may be helpful to ask the hard question of how much we’re truly seeking after God.

“And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” -Jeremiah 29:13

We were designed to know God intimately, as we can any other person, and to be known by Him. But when we half-heartedly seek to know God, we short-change ourselves by choosing to settle for a life deplete of His best.

So knock on God’s door, enter into His tabernacle. He’s always got time for you.