GLORY-ous Victory!

When my daughter was a baby, she was incredibly attached to me. When she was afraid, upset, or in need of anything at all, Mommy was the unquestionable solution. I remember that distinct, contented, baby-sigh that would come from her sweet little lungs when I would pick her up and hold her. It was a wordless sound that said, ‘Whew! I’m ok.’ Her mother’s presence alone made everything better.

In 2 Chronicles 20, Jehoshaphat suddenly found himself under the unexpected attack of a large army. He could have panicked, or raged, or run away. But instead, he wisely followed the instructions God gave him: He and his people prayed, they stood firm, and they worshipped.

As a result of Jehoshaphat’s act of simple obedience, he was rewarded: The enemy was defeated. But perhaps even more important than that, Jehoshaphat experienced the presence of God–His magnificent glory, His protection, and His rest.

Imagine God’s presence as described in Isaiah 6:1-3:

It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. They were calling out to each other,

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies!

The whole earth is filled with his glory!

In that sacred presence, Isaiah may have been somewhat overwhelmed by God’s glory. But at the same time, in his human imperfection–his comparative smallness, he must have felt so secure, so safe his hallowed surroundings.

Isn’t that what we all want? Security. Safety. Peace.

In God’s presence there is no room for anything else.  No pride or vanity, no self-sufficiency or self-pity, no thoughts that focus on ourselves whatsoever, just God. Only amidst His glory can we fully recognize our own insufficiency and weakness, and comparatively, His power and peace.

Isaiah 4:5-6 says,

Then the Lord will provide shade for Mount Zion

and all who assemble there.

He will provide a canopy of cloud during the day

and smoke and flaming fire at night,

covering the glorious land.

It will be a shelter from daytime heat

and a hiding place from storms and rain.

Isaiah 4:5-6 NLT

So when the “heat is on,” when the midday sun is baring down–He is our cool shade.  When the path is dark and we don’t know where to go, He is our guiding light. When the storms rage and we just need to feel safe (or when we simply want to hide from the world!), He is our hiding place–our shelter from the inevitable turbulence of this life.

God’s very presence signals the immediate defeat of the enemy…GLORY-ous victory!

Just as my baby daughter felt a sense of sweet contentment, security, and peace simply existing in the presence of her mother, we can experience complete, even supernatural rest in the presence of our God.  The manifestation of His spirit is our escape, our protection, our refuge. So as Jehoshaphat did so long ago in a dire situation: may we pray, worship, stand firm, and ultimately reside in the valley of blessing. Our loving God longs to hear the contented sighs of His children as we learn to truly rest in him.

• Even when we feel like giving up, God’s love never quits. He is our constant help. When God doesn’t answer a prayer in the way you’d like, or on your timetable, do you persist in your pursuit of His presence?

• Expressing gratitude is an important aspect of prayer. Do you thank God, on a daily basis, for all that He is to you? Gratitude breeds contentment, and God’s children have so many reasons to give thanks.

~Kelly Wilson Mize