Protect Your Sense Of God’s Presence

‘How can the Ark of the Lord come to me?’ 2 Samuel 6:9 NKJV

In the Old Testament the most recognised symbol of God’s presence was the Ark of the Covenant. Wherever the Ark was, God’s presence was there. But Israel allowed the Philistines to steal it. There’s an important lesson here. Satan is out to rob you of your sense of God’s presence! Israel lost the Ark for one reason—disobedience. You always lose your sense of God’s presence at the point of disobedience. What is God telling you to do, or stop doing? He won’t negotiate, compromise, or overlook disobedience; you must deal with it before you can go forward. David asked, ‘How can the Ark of the Lord come to me?’ because all efforts to bring it back to Israel had failed.

Somebody suggested putting it on a new cart. Somebody else suggested they get Uzzah (whose name signifies strength) and Ahio (whose name denotes brotherliness) to drive the cart (see 2 Samuel 6:3). Most people thought this was a great plan, but God didn’t. So much for people’s opinions! David had the best of intentions, but they didn’t line up with God’s will. God had already told Israel that the ark must be carried on the shoulders of anointed priests. In other words, by those who knew how to: (a) walk in balance; (b) walk in love and unity; (c) walk in obedience. Are you getting the message? If you treasure God’s presence in your life and want to protect it, apply these principles.

保守神在你里面的同在

“耶和华的约柜怎可运到我这里来？” 撒母耳记下6:9

在旧约中，最能代表神同在的符号就是约柜了。约柜在哪里，神的同在就在那里。但以色列人竟然允许非利士人把它偷走。这里有一个非常重要的教训，那就是撒旦想让你觉得神不再与你同在了！以色列失去约柜的一个原因就是他们不服从神。当你不顺服神的时候，你就会觉得神不与你同在了。神告诉你要去做什么，或者停止做什么？他不会在顺服上谈判、妥协或忽视，所以你必须先处理好它，然后才能继续前进。大卫说，“耶和华的约柜怎可到我这里来呢？”因为将约柜运回以色列的所有努力都失败了。

有人建议把它放在一辆新车上，还有人建议让乌撒（他的名字代表力量）和阿希约（他的名字代表兄弟情）来驾驶马车（见撒母耳书6：3）。大多数人认为这是一个很棒的计划，但神却不这么认为：人的意见也就这样了！大卫的意图是好的，但他们却没有遵从神的旨意。神已经告诉以色列人，约柜必须由受膏的祭司来搬运，因为只有他们才明白：(a)如何行走在平衡之中；(b)如何行走在爱和合一之中；(c)如何行走在顺服之中。你明白了吗？如果你看重神与你同在并且想要保守它，那么你就要学会去应用这些原则。