DAY EIGHTEEN: THE FIRE OF GOD’S PRESENCE
God is at work in our lives to enlarge the capacity of our soul to inhabit more of Him; burning, cleansing, purifying us with the fire of his presence. I love what John of the Cross says about this process: “He must create this holy place within us little by little. For in our poor and weakened condition we cannot stand to be enlarged by the coming of His presence all at once. If He were to come upon us in His fullness, the soul could not stand the explosive might of His great glory.”
We must allow the fire of God’s presence access to the inner chambers of our heart- the sweet flames of His love to consume us and possess us!
When King Solomon dedicated the Temple, the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifice placed on the altar. Then the Lord “possessed” the Temple by filling it with His glory. (See 2 Chron. 7:1-3)
We are the temple of the living God. We are to host His presence! Take note of every issue in your heart that rises to the surface during your fast. With courage and boldness place it as a sacrifice upon the altar to be consumed by the fire of God’s presence. And then experience His glory filling you to the place where, like the Israelites, you can only fall on your face in worship and give thanks saying, “He is good; His love endures forever!”
Here is a story to ponder. There was a man who owned a carpet cleaning company. He hired a new employee and dropped him off at a home and left to check on another job. When he returned and checked on this employee, he was putting away his equipment. The man went into the home and came to a spot that was dirty. He called in the new guy and asked him to look down and to tell him what he saw. The employee said, well that is dirt. The man said we can work together because I have had employees who could not see the dirt! Is it possible that you and I are not filled completely with the Holy Spirit all the time? Is there some sin that we cannot or refuse to see? The Holy Spirit cannot work with us if we cannot see the sin. Godly sorrow produces repentance and repentance produces salvation! What if we mourned over our sin as if someone died? Well, someone did die…Jesus! He paid to get that “dirt” out of the carpet fibers of our lives so we can be completely filled with His presence and be used by Him in powerful ways…to heal the sick, release from darkness the prisoners, bind up the broken-hearted!
Well, this is the last full day of our fast. I pray that God has touched each of you in deep ways. I ask, that on this day, we all would pray hard for direction for our President; that God’s presence would desend like a cloud over him and consume him. My heart is heavy for this nation as yesterday, Mr Obama signed an executive order removing the ban on federal money being used for abortion clinics. God’s heart must have broken again for each unborn child about to be aborted without hope of a voice. Zech 9:12 says, “Return to the stronghold(I believe this is Jesus), You prisoners of hope. Even today I declare that I will restore double to you!” This nation MUST return to the stronghold of Jesus. It was founded on biblical principles and there is no hope for us if we continue to turn away from God. This scripture promises God’s provision and blessing upon us individually and as a nation if we will turn back to Him, our STRONGHOLD!