Meditation 1: That which grants access into the presence of God
Psalm 5:7 But I, by your great love (HESED), will come into your house; in fear will I bow down toward your holy temple.
What is wonderful about this attribute:
The door that leads into the presence of God is like a massive, steel barricade that is locked from the inside. But the material is not steel; it is the wrath of God. His anger over sin acts like a door designed to keep sinners out of His presence. It prevents any evil from appearing before Him.
I used to work for Dominos Pizza, and one stormy winter night I was standing on a doorstep making a delivery and I was lost in thought considering this very truth. I looked at the door in front of me and was reminded of how God’s wrath is a door designed specifically to bar someone like me from the presence of God. And as I stared at the door I forgot for a moment what I was doing and was overwhelmed at the thought of how utterly impossible it would be for me to gain entry into an area from which I have been barred by the wrath of God against me. And at that very moment it startled me when suddenly the door opened! Right at the moment when I was most gripped by the devastating thought of the reality of the wrath door that guards the holy presence of God, the person came to the door. What a thrilling picture that was! My heart rejoiced when I realized that is exactly what God did. I stood at an impossible door, locked and bared by omnipotent power and infinite hatred of the very thing that filled my heart to capacity, hopelessly shut out from His presence, and, suddenly, the door swung open! What was it that pulled back the deadlocks of His wrath? It was His HESED love.
When you go to the house of a stranger, just as you are not at liberty to just walk up and open the door and enter the house, so God’s great door is only opened from the inside. If the homeowner decides not to open the door, it remains closed. The door is never opened by our efforts or desires or even by our knocking. It is only opened by the favorable will of the one inside.
That same night that this happened, of all the houses I visited there was one that I did enter without knocking. I had to stop by my parent’s house to drop something off. At that house I just walked in. I could do that because of their HESED love toward me as their son. This is the privilege of the children of God.
What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s HESED today?
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Experiencing this attribute:
The way to experience this attribute is to walk through the door and enter into His presence! Devote this day to doing that. But as you do, keep in mind the purpose of the open door.
…in fear will I bow down toward your holy temple.
The door to the presence of God is always open to His children. And the reason it stands open is so we can come in and bow before Him. God does not open it so we can come in and ignore Him. No one opens their door to you so you can wander in, ignoring them, and do what you please in their house. When someone opens their front door to you, you pay strict attention to the reason they opened the door, whether it be to receive a delivery, or to invite you in for fellowship, etc. Whatever their reason for opening the door – that is your only dealing with them. God opens the door so we can be staggered by His glory and bow before Him in fear. He does not open the door to His presence so we can have a half-hearted, distracted, trivialized semi-awareness of Him that is eclipsed by interest in all the worthless things lying around outside the door. He does not open the door so we can turn our backs to His house and pay attention to the world outside. He does not open the door so we can come in and admire ourselves in the mirror. He opens the door so we can have communion with Him and bow before His majesty.
Never forget that it is only the Lord’s special favor that grants access to His presence. And the purpose of that favor is to enable you to seek more of that favor. We do not seek His presence and His favor in order to obtain some other end. We seek it only in order to obtain more of it.
Exodus 33:13 Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight.[1]
Think: What is it that most prevents you from entering into and enjoying a conscious experience of the presence of God? What will you do today to change that?
Promise to trust today:
Psalm 5:7 But I, by your great love (HESED), will come into your house; in fear will I bow down toward your holy temple.
James 4:8 Come near to God and he will come near to you.
Write your own prayer:
