Make a Place to Meet with God: One-Minute Inspiration for Intimacy with God, Day 1

Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” — Exodus 33:7a

Moses might be the greatest example from the Old Testament on how to have a deep intimacy with God. When you get a chance, read Exodus 33 and 34 to see what you speaks to your heart the most. As we begin a series from these chapters, we find that Moses had a practice of building a special place to meet with God that he called the “tent of meeting”. Every time the Israelites picked up camp and moved, he packed up the tent, carried it with him, and set it back up when they arrived at their new location.

Moses pitched the tent outside the camp, some distance away. Why did he choose to do that? It would have been much more convenient to pitch it near where he lived, but as we see from the life of Jesus a few thousand years later, if you really want to hear from God, you have to find a place that is away from the activity, commotion, and noise of other people and get to a place that it’s just you and God. Jesus was always going off late at night or early in the morning before sunrise — up mountains or into the wilderness.

That, I believe, is why Moses pitched the tent outside the camp. Too many distractions inside the camp. And maybe Moses needed a tent because he didn’t want to be watched while he was talking with God. Perhaps it made him too self-conscious. He simply wanted to meet with God, and the only way that was going to happen was to put that tent outside the camp some distance away.

What do you need to meet with God? Perhaps you already have a place where you are not distracted and have an open connection with God. But perhaps not. If not, what can you do to create a better atmosphere? I have a chair that I got just for me to sit in when I want to meet with God, located in my basement away from a lot of the activity around my home. Perhaps, like Jesus, you have to get out in nature, away from people and other distractions. Maybe these ideas are impractical and you find that if you plug in some earbuds and put on worship music, the rest of the world fades away so that you can turn your heart toward God.

Whatever setting is required, I challenge you to do like Moses did, and create that setting, so that the channels of communication get opened between you and God and you are able to sense and hear what he has to say to you.

My Word for 2022: Freshness

Have you ever heard of people getting a single word at the beginning of the year that is meant to be partly a guide and partly a prophesy? I didn’t begin the year intending to use this method, but I felt an internal prompting a few days ago, so decided to ask God if he had a word for me this year. And as God often does, he downloaded what might be thought of as a packet: an impression with a bundle of feelings and thoughts associated with it. Once the packet arrives, I have to do internal work to unpack it, so I can make sense of it, put words to it, and for that matter, so I can share it with others.

After processing it, I decided the best word to describe what God was saying to me for 2022 is “freshness”. I’m pretty sure that’s not very catchy, but after trying many, many other possibilities, that’s what seemed to resonate best.

One of the reasons for sharing my word is that others might also identify with the word and benefit from what I have understood so far — and, to the extent that it is prophetic for me, it might also be prophetic for others and for maybe even the Church. It also helps me share with others who I am as a person and what the Lord might be doing with me over the next year.

I first thought the word was “breakthrough”. And there is a real sense of breakthrough that is part of what God is saying, but breakthrough as a term speaks to me of gaining insight or having an obstacle to overcome, and that didn’t feel like it fit perfectly. My vision of “freshness” is like the arrival of Spring. Or like the sun rising and shining brightly after days of overcast and storm. It is like the warmth after a long, cold winter. It is even an aroma of freshness after a stifling staleness. Freshness. That’s what is coming.

I asked the Lord for a verse to go with this word. I got Isaiah 60:1, which in the NIV says, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.” At a very deep level, this is in harmony with what I received from the Lord. The freshness comes by an act of God. “Your light has come… The glory of the Lord rises upon you.” To that extent, it is not something I have to do, it is something I wait expectantly for. But I am not without a part to play, because I am called to respond to this freshness of the Lord: I have to arise and shine.

My gut impression is that when the freshness arrives, it will feel very difficult not to arise and shine. The freshness is invigorating. It is something that brings great joy. It will make me want to shout and to share it with everyone.

Other words that I considered — which means they are close synonyms — include renaissance, renewal, revival, sparkle, vigor, glow, refreshing, shining, bloom, Spring.

In the end, freshness is the best fit, and I can’t wait!

“GOD is INCREDIBLY in LOVE with YOU!” Shirts

Every 2 years, I place an order for shirts that tell people how much God loves them, and that also advertise this website, WowGod.org. Please email me at dr.tim.thomas@gmail.com if you would like to order any. See the links below for the shirts available. I personally am planning to focus on gold tshirts and hoodies (with red big letters and black little laters), neon yellow (also called safety green) in the same color inks, or ash (light grey) with teal ink for large letters and black for little letters.

Team Harvest RVR 5k 2014 Tim hoodie20130918_155852

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Cotton shirts

basic tshirts
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Hi-tech performance shirts

Sport-Tek® PosiCharge® RacerMesh™ Tee. ST340 (gold, neon yellow, neon orange, neon green)
Sport-Tek® Dri-Mesh® Short Sleeve T-Shirt. K468 (Bright orange)
OGIO® ENDURANCE Pulse Crew. OE320 (pace yellow)
JERZEES® Sport 100% Polyester T-Shirt. 21M. This is a material that is 50% heavier than Sport-Tek or OGIO. (safety green or safety orange)
Gildan® Gildan Performance™ T-Shirt. 42000 (safety green)
Hanes® Cool Dri® Performance T-Shirt. 4820. It has UPF 50+ protection (safety green and safety orange)
Port & Company® Essential Performance Tee. PC380 (gold, neon yellow, neon orange)

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