The number 8 always excites me to the core because it symbolizes a new beginning. That is why I would like to talk to you about “being in the presence of the Lord”, about a few almost-obvious things.
Be open and ready for radical change
Before I quote a few verses from Hebrews 12 for you here in this regard, I want to remind you that the God in whose presence we want to be is a loving but also holy God! He is not your “friend”!
As John wrote to us in John 1, being in the presence of Jesus as God the Son who became man was like getting stuck in these two sides of God! Namely getting stuck in His gracious-loving side, but also getting stuck in that side of truth, which takes no nonsense from you and which hates sin and any form of injustice!
So, be ready for radical change in your own life!
God the Spirit's work in you is to change you!
You are not going to stay the same if you want to be constantly in the presence of the Most High, Almighty, Holy God of the Bible!
God the Spirit's work in us, until the last day of our life here on earth, is to change us and sanctify us!
Every part of our life is going to be affected by it. From our intimate relationship with Him as the living God, but also our relationship with our loved ones and the other people around us, to our relationship with ourselves, our own body, our emotional and physical health, our relationship with money and possessions! Yes, everything, everything, everything… is going to be affected by this and begin to change!
With this in mind, let's read a portion of Hebrews 12 and allow God Himself to speak to us through the working of His Spirit, through His Word in this portion!
“Pursue peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord…
You have not come to something tangible, to a burning fire… But you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of righteous ones made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks better than that of Abel…
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and through it let us serve God acceptably with reverence and awe. For our God is a consuming fire.”
So expect the Lord, because He loves you so much, to teach you, encourage and comfort you, but also to discipline you, to train you as a good coach and mentor would do.
Yes, that is why He will purify you like gold and silver through fire to be as pure as possible and so that you will be ready and equipped for the tests that await and for the path you must walk within the greater plan that He has for you in this life.