Be a Friend of God
ICS Daily Devotions
Psalms 84:10-11 (NKJV) For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold. From those who walk uprightly.
As believers, we should have the same attitude as the Psalmist that it is such a blessing to stay in God’s presence, and we should learn to enjoy being in the His presence. It is in His presence that we are reminded He is our shield; He is faithful like the sun that rises daily giving us life; He will grant us grace (strength for our days and favour with men), and not withhold any good thing from those who walk uprightly. The glory is His presence with us wherever we go.
In God’s presence is the fullness of joy and pleasure evermore because He gives the assurance. Faith will rise in His presence. It is better to sit with and tune into an omnipresent God where all wisdom flows than to be in the presence of 1,000 human experts. There is infinite wisdom in His presence because you are communing with Him, and there is a knowledge or a higher form of wisdom being transferred from the Lord. Knowing He is with and for us fuels our faith and confidence. Our hearts will also be mouldable during this time with the Lord.
Exodus 33:11a (NKJV) So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.
Moses took time to share with God his struggles, especially about the stubbornness of the people of Israel. God never leaves or forsakes us, especially when He has instructed us to do something for Him. He will help us just like He instructed Moses on what he should do next. Meanwhile, Moses also had the opportunity to plead and reason with God why He should not utterly destroy the people of Israel despite their sinning against Him. Likewise, we are also given a privileged position to pray and intercede for others before God.
John 15:15 (NKJV) No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.
God wants to speak to us personally because we are His children and friends. Sadly, many people don’t have time for Him or to listen to Him. They might have a list of prayer items but might not stay in God’s presence long enough to listen to His wisdom. We need to remember that His presence is in the courts of the Lord, and that’s where we are blessed.
Sermon Series: The presence of God
