Psalm 31:20 Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.
Peace on earth begins in the Presence of Our Heavenly Father. From there, it spreads outward toward mankind. In the above passage, “Thou shalt” is a declaration that we will be hidden away from the plots, conspiracies, intrigues, and attacks from men. Further, we will be spared from their strife, accusations, contentiousness, anger, and poisonous gossip. Our Heavenly Father will hide us in HIS pavilion. The word pavilion means booth or tabernacle. We will be dwelling with HIM in secret. In HIS Presence is no strife or anger. Who is invited into HIS pavilion? The previous verse (19) tells us:
Oh, how great is Your goodness,
Which You have laid up for those who fear You,
Which You have prepared for those who trust in You
In the presence of the sons of men!
As we have gone into detail in our weekly Bible study, the “fear of the LORD” is the beginning of wisdom. Ask, seek, and knock correlate to wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. Are you constantly in turmoil? Seek to be in HIS Presence. Are you constantly being attacked by others? Enter into HIS pavilion. In the final analysis, all of the solutions to your problems are found in HIS Presence, nowhere else!!! Yet man seeks every other path for answers. Why? He does not want to die to the flesh, but instead, he wants to “have it his way” rather than serve mankind. Isn’t it time to put away the childish things of the flesh? The Great Love Chapter of the Bible says it this way:
1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
A sign of maturity is to seek HIS Presence. The immature continue to run to and fro looking for signs as their guide to life. We must be careful about signs: all signs are from GOD, but not all signs are relevant:
Matthew 12:39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
A sign is defined as: an object, quality, or event whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else.
Would you rather have a sign from Our Heavenly Father or be in HIS Presence? There is no lasting peace in a sign. It is a temporary comfort. On the other hand, HIS Presence is lasting. Over the years, I have seen many gone astray by “majoring” on signs, myself included. One who pays too much attention to signs can be easily distracted into fruitlessness. Signs are primarily to confirm HIS Word to you, not the opposite. If you are constantly looking for a sign, you will find it.
Ezekiel 14:4 Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;
Our Heavenly Father will oblige you with signs if that is what you want. As for me, I would rather be in HIS Presence. Do you want the real thing or the representation of the real thing? If you are a sign seeker, repent, then focus on receiving wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. Our Heavenly Father will respond:
Matthew 7:7-8 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Again, HE Loves you!