¹⁸ Then King David went in, sat in the Lord’s presence, and said, who am I, Lord God, and what is my house that you have brought me this far? (2 Samuel 7:18 CSB)

How do we come before God? In humbleness or seeking His favor in some way?

The sabbatical I just took gave me time with family and seeking God in different ways. But what I found was that I was seeking Him in my ways, and not His. I was looking to find an intimacy with God in the places I went, some of them presumably very holy places.

However, too many of these places were full of people and activity. And the few that were not I felt like I was on a timetable with how long I could linger. This is the problem with public places. We truly only find God in the silent places and within our solitude. It is not that He is not everywhere else, but if we want intimacy it is not found in public.

David sat in the Lord’s presence. Presumably alone with just the Lord.

But too, I found that I was being presumptions. As David said in today’s scripture, ”who am I, Lord God and what is my house that you have brought me this far?”

God is not found in the prideful arrogance of self. He is found in the humbleness of a repentant heart. In not holding something back but giving everything in. Not in the seeking of places but the silence of where we are.

God is found when we stop striving and simply give in to His presence.