We have turned the page into 2023 and I can’t help but wonder what the next twelve months might hold. Generally speaking, we have limited sight, but this year Rob and I are truly gazing over a blank calendar, awaiting the instruction of a holy God. As terrifying as complete trust might be, I’m also enthused. There’s no room for question about Authorship. We are simply along for the ride.
It’s been an unseasonably quiet week since Christmas and I’ve had lots of time to sit in silence, pondering and praying, considering a new word for the new year. As you know, still was my word for 2022 and its application happened daily. So much so that I briefly considered simply adding a suffix and continuing into 2023 with still-er. 🙂
There were other worthy candidates this year: humility, wonder, and joy. But I’ve come to rest on a dated but weighty word, out of fashion but not out of context.
tabernacle
I happened upon this scripture in a google search and the word has adhered to my brain ever since, a divine whisper of framework for the unseen season ahead.
"Set up the tabernacle on the first day of the New Year." (Exodus 40:2 NLT)
Of course my wheels started turning. What do I know about tabernacle?
A tabernacle is a fixed or movable habitation, a meeting place for worship. It also means residence or dwelling place. It was, in the wilderness, the designated place of divine interaction; the square footage where the God of heaven dwelt with His people on earth.
The tabernacle traveled with God’s people. It dominated the Jewish camp; they set the holy tent up and arranged their tribes about it. The place of meeting was the epicenter of their desert existence. Truly, they were led by their tabernacle experience because the tent is where the glory shone: a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. The tabernacle moved with God’s people in tow. They made their way through the desert in dips and loops, matching pace until at last they crossed the Jordan and settled into the Promised Land.
Once planted in Canaan, King David dreamed of a house: a stone and mortar temple to house God’s Spirit. His son, Solomon, had clean enough hands to build it. Solomon’s Temple stood for 410 years until Nebuchadnezzar leveled it. Then the Meager Temple took its place, surviving several occupations until Herod enlarged the Temple Mount and restored the Temple entirely. Herod’s Temple stood for another forty years after Jesus’ death and resurrection. God always had a home among His people.
When Jesus ascended: He promised His Spirit to the folks He left behind. Faithful disciples waited in the Upper Room and received the power as pledged. When the wind blew and the tongues of fire separated, the divine took up residence in ordinary and surrendered flesh. God now dwells in us. These flesh and blood bodies are the divine overlap between heaven and earth. We can still be led from within, much like the Israelites following along with the supernatural pull at epicenter of their camp.
I’ve been this drum a lot lately, but we, too, are on a spiritual journey. We are making our way out of sin and into sanctification. And we require a space to meet with God on a daily basis. Thus His invitation to tabernacle.
So set the tabernacle up at the first of the year. How do we go about this? If you are familiar with Exodus, you know God had very specific instructions for the assembly of said tabernacle. It was ordained to be a modest recreation of the throne room of heaven.
"Then have them make a sanctuary for Me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all of its furnishings exactly like the pattern I show you." (Exodus 25:8-9 NLT)
If God is pressing for a personal tabernacle in the coming year, He surely has instructions for the fabrication. He is seeking a set aside place in the temporary tent of my frame. This ordinary space is made special by its unique devotion to God’s presence.
He also has divine ideas about the furbishments and layout. I’ve been reading Peter Scazzero again and I am reminded, God cares deeply about our interior life. How we function within the unseen iceberg of our hidden self matters greatly. For me: 2023 needs to be about granting the Spirit full access to and oversight of my out-of-sight places. The entire tabernacle requires dedication. There can be no rooms or corridors devoted to lesser gods. Historically, divided houses of worship give way to disaster.
Furthermore, once erected, what exactly takes place in the tabernacle? We needn’t look past my namesake; Anna. (Luke 2:36-39) She spent her years fully devoted to four functions: worship, prayer, fasting and gratitude. Anna’s diligence to Kingdom culminated in her perception of the living Savior. It makes perfect sense; we go where we are looking and we become what we behold.
So for me, I’m choosing tabernacle in 2023. I’m committing to a set aside frame for His holy functions. I’m inviting the Holy Spirit to flood every chamber and hallway, determined to let my interior match my exterior. It is my desire to live more aware of His presence than ever before.
What about you, my friend? What word is on your heart at the cusp of 2023? What is phrase is caught in your head? How is the Lord leading you into the unknown of the new year?
Lord, today we give You the new year. We long to live more fully committed in 2023. Make us a place set apart for Your presence. Help us now, as we set up our interior life in a way that pleases You. Flood our rooms and corridors with Your Spirit. Anoint us for Your intentions. Prevail in our frames as we desire to honor You with every square foot of our opportunity. Amen.