I Will Not Go With You!

Psalm 139 speaks of God's spirit and presence being with us no matter where we are. He is always there, leading us and holding on to us (vs. 7-12).

What if (some very vain speculation here), the Lord said to you this morning. " ________,
(fill in the blank with your name) I will not go with you today because you are a stubborn person." I don't know about you but I find that to be a very frightening thought. Yet, this is what He told Moses in Exodus 33 when He said he was to depart from Sinai and take the people to the land that He swore to give to them through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He tells Moses He will send an angel to go with him but He said "for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people" (v. 3). Moses converses with God and the Lord then tells him "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest" (v.14).

God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. We know He never changes. However, before Christ came things were different. The way sin was dealt with was different. Praise be to God for His unconditional love in becoming flesh to live with us and show us who He is. Praise be to God that He sacrificed His only begotten Son for our sin, bringing us forgiveness and the promise of His Holy Spirit to dwell in us. There is no place we can go from His presence.

Like the Israelites, we are stubborn, stiff-necked people. We are still people who want to go our own way. The good news is because of Jesus Christ we know He will never leave us or forsake us. He is always there to forgive and cleanse us as we confess our sin to Him.

Go today in the joy of the presence of the LORD!