Wilderness Wanderings

My apologies if this meditation doesn't make sense! It made total sense to me as I wrote it so it may be much more out of my own experience and desire to "see" God than anything else! My only prayer is that God will use it in some way! Blessings.

Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.Revelation 21:3a

While wandering through the daily grind of my wilderness I have only to take a glance or renew a memory to be reminded that I am not alone. God’s presence is always evident in some way or another. Sometimes, however, I wish I could gather physical manna like the Israelites. But then chagrined, I admit that I am too much like the Israelites in their denial of the obvious.

God dwelled with the Israelites in objects that could be seen, felt, heard. Of course, even those weren’t enough for them at times. Despite all the visuals they still took to shaping golden cows. And then Gabriel appears in Mary’s bedroom and it is yet another physical demonstration of God’s presence with man.

It was an amazing birth - God revealing Himself to man through his Son! It should be the event that stops all doubt of His existence. Surely from this point on there will be astounding accounts of God’s presence, now that He has appeared in the flesh. Now I should be able to visually see Him! But in my wilderness wanderings it doesn’t happen like that and I’m left wondering if the Israelites had it any better.

With the appearance of Jesus I become more vulnerable when it comes to experiencing God. Faith in the unseen is now required. But, by looking more intently for God, keeping open and vulnerable to the experience, the seen and unseen visuals that do appear will take me deeper into the mind of God. And that is a gift the wandering Israelites never received.

God, make my life Your dwelling place.

Help me in the experiencing of your presence

to go deeper into You.

Amen.