When God Shows Up

This past weekend I spent a few day this in Galtinburg, TN with our youth group as part of an annual youth event called Resurrection. The band that led us in worship this weekend was The City Harmonic, and one of their songs has been stuck in my head all day today. The song is called “Mountain Top”, and one lyric says this:

               “We’ve been to the mountain top. We’ve seen the glory of our God. He is here!”

               This portion of the song looks back on an account from Exodus where Moses experienced the glory of God firsthand. But this song also reminds me about a story in Leviticus. Now I know that Leviticus is not often a book of the Bible that we go to for daily encouragement. It can be difficult to understand in terms of culture and actions. But if you read this portion of the Bible through the lens of Jesus, you will definitely come away from Leviticus with a deeper understanding of the holiness of God, and probably a reminder of how far as a society we have drifted from God’s guidelines. Most of read this book of the Bible in the context of God’s concern and care for His people.

               But here is the story that the song reminded me about, it is in t 9^th chapter. In this account Moses is telling the priests what needs to be done to prepare to worship God. And in verse 4 Moses says, “Today the Lord will appear to you”.

               Wow! Imagine the feeling that those Levite priests had at that very moment. I wonder if there were any nervously shaking hands when preparing the alter that day. I wonder if there were any butterflies churning around in stomaches that day. I wonder if there was any doubt that later that day, God would show His glory in a real visible and manifested way. I wonder if those priests spent some time talking to each other about ‘how’ God was going to appear that day?

               God did appear during this time of worship, and His glory was revealed. You can read the rest of this chapter later today, and focus on Verses 24-25 to see how God chose to show up that day.

                I believe that the Spirit of God dwells inside of each believer, offering comfort and strength. In a very real sense, God is always with us, so we are never apart from God. There are times, however, that we really feel the Spirit of God moving in us and directing events and circumstances in our lives. It is during these times where we should feel most alive, it is in these moments where we should say “God is here!” So, as we live in the grace of the New Covenant established through the work of Jesus Christ today, how are we expecting God to appear to us now? Are we even expecting God to appear to us? Did you wake up this morning wondering how and where God might show up today? What about the last time you were in church—did you go to that building expecting God to show up?

               See, God is as active now as He was in the lives of Moses, Abraham, Peter, and Paul. God is moving all of creation and existence toward the destination that He has chosen. God is still bringing communities of faith together and showing up to stir hearts and change lives through songs, sermons, and testimonies.

Revival still happens. In fact, that renewal and fire of Revival can happen every day in you. And if Revival happens every day in you it will spread out from you to others…to your church family, to your co-workers, to your spouse, to your children and grand children, to your waitress and to your pastor. That’s when worship becomes real, that’s when praise becomes authentic, and that’s when God shows up.