Recognizing God

Day three hundred ten

For FHE my family watched President Monson's talk about standing alone.  Standing alone is hard!  It was nice to know that even he felt that way.  It was also very timely because one of my sons would soon find himself in a situation where he would have to make a choice of whether to say something or not.  This talk would come up again for him.

In my prayer this morning I first thanked the Lord for wise counsel from a servant of God. We are truly blessed to have such great men leading us.  Then I asked that the Lord would bless us with the courage, wisdom and trust needed to heed the counsel given. May He bless us with the opportunities to test ourselves in our ability to stand alone.

2 Chronicles 5-6

The big day had come!  The temple was completed, the ark of the covenant was placed in the Holy of Holies, and Solomon was presiding over the temple dedication.  As the musicians and singers are praising the Lord "the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord.  So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God." (2 Chron 5:13-14)

I think that some of the events were planned for the temple dedication:  Solomon built a special platform so he could speak to the people and pray for the people. The Levitical choirs had obviously gotten together and rehearsed.  The priests had all planned to be there that particular day.  But I don’t think they had planned for the cloud and the glory. This was unexpected.

Can you imagine the reaction of the people as they see this cloud fill the temple?  I picture them looking at each other saying, what is going on?  If I had been there I think my first thought would have been: Did someone knock over one of the candlesticks in the temple?  Is the temple on fire?!

In what could have been a moment of panic, take note of Solomon's reaction. Solomon is cool as a cucumber.  He recognized what was going on. He didn’t panic.  Instead, he continues on with the dedication by blessing the congregation and offering a prayer. 

What was it that allowed Solomon to know what was going on?

In verse 1 of chapter 6 Solomon states, "The Lord hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness."   When did that happen? Previously there had been a conversation between the Lord and David discussing Jerusalem and the need for a temple to be built there (v 4-6).  We do not have all the details of this conversation or what was passed on to Solomon, but what we do have are some scriptural references that would have given Solomon enough information to realize what was going on:

The words thick darkness had been used to describe God's presence before:

"And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was." (Ex 20:21)

"These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice..." (Deut 5:22)

God's presence had also been described as a cloud:

"...for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat." (Lev 16:2)

Solomon knew what the scriptures said.  He knew that God had shown up because he had read about it in their history.  How important is it that we be familiar with the scriptures like this? If something unusual happened in our lives, would we know how to relate it to the scriptures and the Lord? Would you have recognized God in the cloud?

I'm not so sure I would have recognized God in the cloud until Solomon had told me that's what it was. This brought about a new question: What difference would it make in my life if I was so immersed in the scriptures that I could filter my life experiences through it?

Imagine the blessings that would come if we were able to recognize God in our lives every day, even in those moments that seem unusual.  We would never feel alone, our faith would be steadfast and immovable, our ability to do God's work would increase, and our love for God and others would be immeasurable.  Every day would be filled with faith, hope and charity!  To top it off we could remain calm during the storms and make much wiser choices.  I can't really see a downside to this!

Solomon was lucky to have people in his life that talked with the Lord and were willing to share it with him.  I try to surround myself with good people that love the Lord and that can teach me to be closer to Him.  They have been real blessings in my life.

However, having good people in my life is not enough; I have to do my part too.  There may be times when I find myself alone with no one to tell me what to do; I have to know for myself.  I want to be the cool cucumber type person, not the person who panics and misses out.  I want the blessings that come from recognizing God in my life, who wouldn't?  So I will continue each day to read and study my scriptures knowing that as I do so I will learn to recognize God a little more each day.