Day 18 in the Wilderness: Obedience to the Lord creates a house He will inhabit.

40 Days in the Wilderness

Day 18: Obedience to the Lord creates

“Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.”

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭40:34-35‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

I mentioned before that I had a great uncle who had many bluebirds on his property. This was not a happy coincidence. Rather, it was because he built birdhouses that would attract them. If you decide that you want to have bluebirds in your yard, you don’t just put up any kind of a birdhouse or potential nest.

In the 1960s, Dick Peterson noticed that the local population of bluebirds was diminishing due to the deforesting of the surrounding area. Through research, he developed what came to be known as the “Peterson” nesting box. Chances are, if you’ve seen a bluebird house, you’ve seen what his design looks like. The use of these boxes is credited with having increased the population of bluebirds in Minnesota as well as other areas. You give bluebirds what they want and they will come. In fact, most creatures (including us!) have definite preferences in terms of habitation.

Now, the Lord may be different from us in many ways, but the tendency to inhabit a particular type of environment is not one of them.

“But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!””

‭‭Luke‬ ‭11:28‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The Lord blesses those who keep His word; and one of those blessings is that He will live in us.

“Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”

‭‭John‬ ‭14:23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Today we see that the lord entered the tabernacle when Moses had completed it. As we have discussed before, the Lord gave Moses elaborate instructions as to how the tabernacle was to be built; and he followed them meticulously. Additionally, you will find that when Solomon built the temple for the Lord, it was done according to the Lord’s own detailed instructions given to David. And, if you are familiar with that story, you know that when the temple was dedicated, God’s presence entered in.

“When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.”

‭‭II Chronicles‬ ‭7:1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The Lord wants to dwell in us and has made the way for us to receive His precious Holy Spirit. But make no mistake, if we have no desire to be obedient to Him, we cannot expect that He will dwell in us.

Don’t allow the stress of a wilderness experience to cause you to be disobedient, creating a hostile environment for the Lord.

For today write this in your “wilderness journal”:

Obedience to the Lord creates a house He will inhabit.

#40daysinthewilderness