And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  2 Corinthians 6:16

I believe the actions we take directly impact the workings and effects of the spiritual, and vice versa. I have witness many times how atmospheres shift when a specific person walk into a room, how conversations take new directions when one finds oneself in new territory, and how impactful our words are to accomplishing our goals. I believe we have the power to make or break most situations in our lives; I stand by the belief that we are not mere victims of sin and death, but that we have been given the power to effectively live as overcomers. For this reason I become frustrated when my seemingly simple hardships turn into these big, unyielding, disobedient mountains. I mean, these mountains need to read themselves some Scripture, they’ve got to move.  I am talking about those times you find yourself angered at simple things, being bored by prayer and worship, God seems a million miles away, old habits peek their heads out and you find yourself intimidated by life in general. You feel alone.  The road seems daunting and deserted. For me personally, these mountains are more often than not represented by the things I feel I have overcome, resurfacing without warning, for instance, impatience or doubt. Finding myself in a struggle once again with these thoughts, I am always also at the same time experiencing loneliness. When I find myself in a personal frame of mind that is unpleasant, more often than not the cause can be traced to a moment I came into an agreement with a particularly unchristlike idea- the idea that I have to go at it alone. This idea crept in that I need to accomplish victory in my own efforts. Loneliness walks alongside self pity, and with self-pity comes inactivity. I can then usually pinpoint a day, moment, where I thought and then believed I am ____________, ( failing, not enough, not going to succeed, unworthy, unloved, rejected, unapproved, overlooked, add whatever you want.) I want to draw you attention to the story of the Israelites as they travelled through the desert.  The presence of God manifested as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night as they walked. There are two significant elements here relevant to my point. First, they had obeyed Him and left Egypt(slavery) resulting in the manifest presence of God walking with them as a direct result of taking action and obedience, and secondly they aligned themselves with the presence of God by walking where and how He guided. Our decisions have an impact on whether we see and feel the presence of God or not. We can walk in our own strength, but we can only have freedom when we align ourselves with His leading. The result of His leading is always the fulfillment of promise. Your destination with God is always destiny.   When there is agreement, there is power. Nothing can legally happen if there isn’t agreement between two parties. Amos 3:3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed? It is easy to determine that I have been walking alone when I am not operating effectively or living powerfully. When I feel God is far, could it be that the pillar of fire inside me burns for another direction, moving opposed to where I am going, beckoning me towards great promise and destiny? Can it be that I am trying so hard to find a path, proving my strength and knowledge?  God has given us authority and power, but we do need to come into agreement with His will in order to be effective.  God will have no unity with idols, no alignment with ideas that promote self.  In Genesis 11 we see the people of the earth conspiring to build themselves a city and a tower. They wanted to build a fortress to protect themselves, out of fear of being scattered about the earth, standing alone. Fearing the desert journey will result in self effort, being afraid of the notoriety that comes from walking alone, will result in building an empire with a self-preservation mindset. Their entire mission was based on fear; this idea gave birth to a mission of gaining ground and establishing self. They said to each other, “let us make a name for ourselves.”  God recognized that they were one nation, undivided. They spoke one language. They had psyched each other up so much, there was such conformity to the norm of elevating self that God proclaimed anything they put their minds to would be possible for them. And He chose to confound their wisdom, He chose to confuse them, He chose disunity of a nation above the elevation of flesh. He alone should have the glory in earth. Confusion runs rampant when self is at the helm of a journey.

The presence of God walks in us, guiding as He wills. Our victory is found in the going.  Two walk together when there is agreement. When we say, “You are my God,” His presence becomes a fire burning with purpose and direction. His presence in us becomes the compass that directs our lives. Whenever we respond to this fire, our hearts consequently burn within us to do His will, and our souls become refreshed with hope. If you are feeling far from God, I want to ask you to think of the last time your heart burned with purpose? What was He saying then? Where was He leading? Bring to remembrance the agreement you made to follow Him. Realign your heart with His. Walk where you feel Him, go where you hear Him, journey where you see Him. His presence is fire, it lights the way.

Pray with me, “Thank you Father for your presence in my life. Thank you for walking with me.  I respond to your presence today, I align my will with Yours. I want to go where You are going, do what You are doing, say what You are saying. Use me according to your will. I choose to walk with you. ”