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Daily Devotion: 2 Chronicles 5:13-14


2 Chronicles 5:13-14    "It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD;  (14)  So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God."

We jump ahead to chapter five. Chapters 3 and 4 give the specifics of the temple. No doubt, God gave wisdom to Solomon in directing the building of the temple. In today's verses, we find the ark of the covenant has been placed in the temple by the priests. Untold numbers of sacrifices are made upon the altar as the temple is dedicated unto the Lord.  Now Solomon instructs the singers and musicians to sound the praises of God. As they begin to praise the Lord, His glory fills the temple to the degree that the priests could not stand to minister. What a glorious time that must have been.

Now, I ask the question of myself: How often has it occurred that the Holy Spirit took absolute control in my life that I was not able to do anything other than just be in the presence and glory in the presence of the Almighty God?  In our worship services, how often does that occur in our individual lives? When was the last time that the congregation was overwhelmed by the presence of the Spirit of the Lord?  What is required in order for that to take place? I have a lot of questions this morning, but I'm not sure that there is any one single answer.  But I do believe that God will honor us with His overwhelming presence if we, as God's people, place ourselves in the right position of worship and praise.

Let's look at what took place that day. First the ark of the covenant was the central focus of the priests and the people. The ark of the covenant represents the ultimate ARK (vessel) of God's covenant, Jesus Christ. Then the people were all focusing their hearts, their minds, and their voices toward the goodness, mercy, and grace of the Lord.  Our world seems to be filled with so many distractions in our day and time, but with the blessings of the Lord we have the capability to enter the sanctuary of praise and focus our very being on the goodness of God. We come into His presence to thank Him for all He does for us each day. We come to honor His glory and humble ourselves to His wisdom and purpose for our lives. We come with voices to acknowledge His greatness. When we offer our praise unto the Lord for His goodness and mercy, I am convinced the Lord will make Himself known to us and honor us with His presence.

As a pastor, I can say it would be such a beautiful thing if the Lord were to come down and fill each heart and mind to the degree that I could not stand up and minister. It would be such a beautiful thing for the Lord to take absolute control of the worship service. It happened on the day of completion of the temple. It could occur today also when each heart is focused simply and sincerely upon the goodness of our Lord.

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