“So the men of Kiriath-jearim came to get the Ark of the Lord. They took it to the hillside home of Abinadab…The Ark remained in Kiriath-jearim for a long time—twenty years in all.
During that time all Israel mourned because it seemed the Lord had abandoned them.”
1 Samuel 7:1-2
Can you imagine the Ark of God’s Presence being “stored” at someone’s house for twenty years? Of course, during that time it would have been easy for the Israelites to think the Lord had abandoned them, but who was actually responsible?
With the Lord’s Presence no longer a priority in their daily lives, the people soon begged Samuel for a king to lead them, and then continued to neglect the Ark during Saul’s entire reign. (1 Chron. 13:3) As a result, King Saul ruled with foolishness, jealousy, anger, and pride. After disobeying God in his most-important battle, Saul even built a monument to himself!
Could some of those same words describe our lives when we fail to allow God’s presence to influence our choices? What about our jealous competition for position…or what about our anger when we don’t get our own way? Could those be signs that we too have “stored away” our Lord’s presence until a more convenient time?
However, is anything in this world more precious, more important, more powerful than the Lord’s presence? If I want God to be part of my life, then what place of honor do I give Him? Do I neglect HIM, but build monuments to me?
Perhaps it’s time to move God out of “storage,” and remodel HIS home in my heart!
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