As I’ve mentioned before, my Bible Study Fellowship class studied Revelation this year. As you might imagine, in studying this unique book, I had countless opportunities to visualize the unique, magnificent and sometimes downright strange scenes that John writes about throughout Revelation. Talk about word picture gold! If you haven’t read much of Revelation, one quick skim will show you exactly what I mean. Some of the visualizations stirred up in these pages will excite you, some will comfort you, some will intrigue you, and honestly, some might downright frighten you. When we did our deep dive into Revelation 15, one of the word pictures filled me with awe. John wrote about this vision He saw of heaven:

After this I looked, and I saw in heaven the temple—that is, the tabernacle of the covenant law—and it was opened. Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests. Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed. -Revelation 15:5-8, emphasis added

Wow… So much there to unpack! And so much I’m not going to even attempt to figure out at this moment! If you’re intrigued, it may be time for you to seek out a Revelation study (which I highly recommend!). 🙂 For now, I’d just like to draw your attention to the bolded words because they created a visualization in my mind that I hope never goes away. Can you see it? God’s holy temple filled with smoke—from His glory and power. WOW. Honestly, I don’t think I had my “wow moment” on my very first readthrough of these verses, but my lesson led me to three other passages that also talk about the temple being filled with God’s presence. Check these out: 

Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. -Exodus 40:34

Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God. -2 Chronicles 5:13b-14

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. -Isaiah 6:1-4

I emphasized the parts that etched the mind picture from Revelation 15 deeper and deeper into my imagination… Just thinking about God’s power and glory filling the temple like a cloud, or like smoke, is a visualization that helps me tremendously. It helps me to “see” His all-consuming presence! And if I can “see” it, then I’m more likely to truly experience it.

As I ponder this all-consuming presence of God that fills rooms the same way smoke reaches into every little crack and crevice of a space it enters, I am led to consider Him in a brand new way. Picturing His presence in this way helps me imagine His presence taking over and even overwhelming my worries, fears, stresses and anxieties. An all-consuming presence can do something like that. What a powerful thought.

You may have noticed that the three verses above were all from the Old Testament. Before Jesus died, rose and ascended into Heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to take up residence inside believers (in the New Testament), God’s presence was primarily symbolized by the temple. Without attempting a deep dive into Old Testament rules and practices, just know that long ago, Israelites had to go to the temple to be near God. The temple, or tabernacle, was the representation of His presence. Now, since the Holy Spirit descended on believers in Acts 2, we experience the living God inside of us and surrounding us wherever we are. We celebrate God as being omnipresent. We don’t have to go to church to feel near to Him; He is with us anywhere and everywhere! 

When I was pondering the passages that discuss God’s presence filling a room like a cloud or like smoke, I looked around the room where I was studying and just imagined His presence filling up every corner of that space. Even now, as I sit on my couch, I look around my little loft and smile thinking about the Lord’s permeating presence consuming my living space. …which gets me thinking, I want to be intentionally aware of Him filling every space that I’m in regularly! For me, that’s mostly my home, my car, and my classroom at school. While my life is far from sequestered to only three locations, these are undoubtedly the places where I spend the bulk of my time. 

Which spaces are you in most? What difference might it make if you imagined God’s presence taking over those spaces and consuming every crack and crevice? Today, I’d like to offer a prayer for you to pray inviting God into your life’s most familiar spaces and places. I invite you to pray this prayer every so often, and just see what God might do.

Lord, you are all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present. In you, all things hold together. You promise to be with me always, and I thank you for the comfort and peace that promise brings. God, I come before you today asking for your powerful presence to fill the spaces where I live. Take over my home, my _______. May your presence overwhelm each place and reach itself so far into every single opening and corner, that these places where I spend my time would be bursting with YOU. Like a cloud filling up a room, like smoke expanding uncontrollably through the air, let my home, my _____ be filled to the brim. May your presence be tangibly felt—by me and by every other person who steps into my spaces. Thank you for your all-consuming presence. Amen.