The Shekinah Glory

In school, I’m studying kings of Israel and the different events that took place during their reigns. Yesterday’s and today’s lessons were about the building of the temple by Solomon and the dedication.

1 Kings 5-8 tells the process of building the temple (Solomon’s temple). In chapter 8, verses 1-11, the Ark of the Covenant is placed in the temple and the glory of the Lord fills the place.

My textbook explains that this glory of the Lord is called the Shekinah Glory. It was a visible cloud that represented the presence of God. When it showed up, people knew God was there, that He had come.

I kind of wish that the Shekinah Glory was still around, that we could see the presence of God.

Because sometimes, simply knowing in your head that God is always present doesn’t mean anything. You need something more–you need to know, need to see beyond the shadow of a doubt, that He is there.

Because you can’t always feel it. There’s times you can’t hear His voice. Sometimes it seems like He’s a million miles away, unable (or unwilling) to hear you.

We in today’s world don’t have the Shekinah Glory, that visible sign of God’s presence.

Or maybe we do.

Maybe the Shekinah Glory is in the breath-taking views in nature.

Maybe the Shekinah Glory is in the closeness and love of a church family.

Maybe the Shekinah Glory is in finding a verse in the Bible that you really needed at the time.

Maybe the Shekinah Glory is in the everyday blessings and miracles, such as waking up this morning.

Maybe the things we see around us, the things that scream out the fact of the realness of God, the things that touch us and remind us someone (or Someone) cares–maybe that’s the Shekinah Glory for us today.

Maybe it’s not the blazing cloud that filled the temple and awed the Israelis; maybe it’s less than that–and yet more, because I think that seeing the presence of God in things such as the above is more personal and meaningful and touching than seeing a big, bright cloud descending on the place where we’re gathered.

Maybe the Shekinah Glory is all around us.

*I’m sorry if this doesn’t make sense; sometimes putting my thoughts into words is difficult, especially if I’m not really sure what I’m thinking! 😁

P.S. Where/when/how have you seen/felt God’s presence, His Shekinah Glory? I’d like to hear about it!

P.P.S. I guess I’ll go first with sharing one of my experiences.🙂 Last year when I was really struggling, I had been somewhere by myself, feeling sorry for myself and wondering if God would always feel so far away. Then a friend found me, sensed something was wrong, and we talked. She prayed for me, and I seriously felt this presence, like God was standing right there with us. That’s my Shekinah Glory moment.