41 ‘Now arise, Lord God, and come to your resting place,
you and the ark of your might.
May your priests, Lord God, be clothed with salvation,
may your faithful people rejoice IN YOUR GOODNESS. 2 Chronicles 6
Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication ends with an invitation to the Almighty God to come and reside in the Temple built for Him by His people in Jerusalem and the God who created the whole Universe came down – Amazing! Much later the Lord Himself came as a man, without His Glory, to the very same place.
Amanda Grace shared on Elijahstreams that someone had asked her why Almighty God hadn’t just removed the devil after he’d tricked Eve and Adam in the garden. She said that she’d been given an answer to the question, ‘Because man would have been separated from God forever, without Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross!’ There has been great suffering in the world and God is often wrongly blamed for it, but we have to believe that our all wise and loving Father continues to work for the restoration of Christ’s Kingdom ‘on earth as it is in heaven’. That’s the only true hope for this world and it’s people.
13 The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang:
‘HE IS GOOD;
HIS LOVE ENDURES FOR EVER.’
Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud, 14 and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God. 2 Chronicles 5
Worship brought down the Presence of God so powerfully that the priests could no longer minister before Him in the Temple. This was repeated after Solomon’s prayer. We must hold on to the truth that we serve a GOOD GOD, who wants the best for His children in this fallen world. We know that we will face trials in the coming year, but God is with us in every situation and will bring us through and bless us as we walk with Him.
3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshipped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying,
‘HE IS GOOD;
HIS LOVE ENDURES FOR EVER.’ 2 Chronicles 7
God bless and keep you today and throughout this New Year. Immanuel, God is with us.