BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.
Be in your prayer space, follow the usual steps and settle into silence.
Sit still…..Relax…….Do not rush………
Take a couple of gentle, slow and deep breaths…becoming aware of your breath going in and out… stay focused on this breath of life……
Now from the depth of your heart begin to wish your mind well……….
Take a moment. Bless your day. Let your day bless you……
Take another moment. Bless your world. Let your world bless you……
We read about Moses becoming awakened to God and God’s presence in an extraordinary event – a bush burning, but not consumed (Exodus 3:1-8, 13-15). Moses asked: Tell me your name….so that I may tell my people who you are……Without giving him a name, God asked Moses simply to rely on His presence in all that would happen……..Moses had to walk in mystery…..And by the strength of God’s presence, Moses led his people out of Egypt……
By the strength of God’s presence…….Reflect on walking by the strength of God’s presence!
May God be your strength, your guide, your focus, your purpose and the end of your journey……
The presence of God with Israel was displayed by the cloud and fire. When the tabernacle was originally built (raised up), God blessed it by showing His presence in the form of the cloud by day and the fire by night (Exodus 40:34-38). This cloud of God’s glory was evident at different times in Israel’s history; when Solomon built the temple, the cloud of glory filled the temple (1 Kings 8:10-11)……
From evening until morning it was above the tabernacle like the appearance of fire. Additionally, this was more than proof of God’s presence. The cloud by day and the fire by night were actual helps and comforts to Israel. The fire at night was obviously a comfort to Israel in the midst of a dark wilderness and the cloud by day would be a shade from the hot wilderness sun.
The cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire lighted the night. After the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would journey and in the place where the cloud settled, there the children of Israel pitched their tents.
Whether it was two days, a month, or a year, if the cloud remained above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would remain encamped and not journey; but when it was taken up, they would journey. They only went where the presence of God led them and they only stayed where the presence of God stayed.
A cloud by day and fire by night…that is who God was for Moses….ever present, ever faithful GOD.
The cloud and the fire guided Israel…….
Dancing in the cloud with the angels….playing in the dirt with children and everything in between……cloud by day and fire by night! Reflect on what this means in terms of your personal life!
Abide in this thought for a while!
Though Israel had been organized and ordered by God, though they had been cleansed, set apart and blessed, they still had to be guided by God each step of the way to make it to the Promised Land. God had not done all those previous things to make them able to start towards the Promised Land on their own, but to make every step in constant dependence on Him.
The Psalmist sings with confidence and let us join the psalmist in singing today: “Your word is a lamp for my feet….and a light unto my path (Ps.119:105)…every step of the way…cloud by day, fire by night!
Believers today must, in the same way, be led by the presence of God. St. Paul says, let the peace of God rule in your hearts (Colossians 3:15)…..the presence of God’s peace is to govern our hearts…..the Lord is near and our lives should be lived out with that belief.
Again Paul says, “Dismiss all anxiety from your minds; Present your needs to God in every form of prayer and in petitions full of gratitude. Then God’s own peace, which is beyond all understanding, will stand guard over your hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus,” (Philippians 4:6-7)….the presence of God’s peace is to govern our hearts….the Lord is near and our lives should be lived out with that belief.
Just as Moses became awakened to God and God’s presence in an extraordinary event – a bush burning, but not consumed, we, too, must awake to God and God’s presence in our own events, ordinary or extraordinary. God asked Moses to simply rely on His presence in all that would happen. God asks of us the same thing.
Take a moment….Pray Psalm 139 when you have time…..But for the moment pray the following verses…..
Yahweh, you search me and know me.
Whether I walk or lie down, you are watching;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Close behind and close in front you hem me in,
shielding me with your hand.
Where could I go to escape your spirit?
Where could I flee from your presence?
If I climb to the heavens, you are there;
there, too, if I sink to Sheol.
If I flew to the point of sunrise—
or far across the sea—
your hand would still be guiding me,
your right hand holding me.
If I asked darkness to cover me
and light to become night around me,
that darkness would not be dark to you;
night would shine as the day.
Take another moment….Pray Psalm 23 when you have time…..But for the moment pray the following verses…..
Even though I walk in the dark valley…..risky, scary, dangerous valley, I fear no evil…..
For you are at my side….ever, faithfully present,
With your rod and your staff that give me courage…..
Only goodness and kindness follow me…all the days of my life…..
And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come…abiding in God’s love!!
A cloud by day and fire by night…that is who God was for Moses….ever present, ever faithful GOD.
May God be your strength, your guide, your focus, your purpose and the end of your journey……
Fr. Gus Tharappel,msfs