“If Your presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.” Exodus 33:15
David understood something the world still struggles to understand. In Psalm 51, he cried out, “Take not Your Holy Spirit from me.” He did not say take not my kingdom, take not my gold, take not my strength, or take not my success. He said the only thing he couldn’t live without is God’s presence. That is the heart of a man who has learned where life really comes from. Carry the presence of God, because everything else can be replaced.
In Mark chapter 5, we see the woman with the issue of blood. The Bible says she touched the hem of Jesus’ garment. She did not physically grasp Him, but she touched something that had been in contact with Him. Power was released into her body. That is what happens when presence becomes transferable. When the apostles walked the earth, Acts says people took note of them that they had been with Jesus. They were not impressive due to education or status, but they carried something. And that same presence can still be carried today. When you touch Him and then go into your world, others will encounter what has touched Him through you.
David also described the strength that comes from presence when he ate the showbread, called the bread of the Presence. He was weary, hunted, and weak, yet that bread strengthened him for battle. Presence not only forgives or convicts, but it strengthens. It gives you what you need for the fight you are walking into. That is why Moses, in Exodus 33, refused to move forward without God. God offered an angel and promises, but Moses said, “If Your presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.” He understood that success without presence is emptiness.
There is a transfer that still happens today. The apostle Paul said, “I charge you before the Lord Jesus Christ.” That is not a shock; it is a charge. A shock fades, but a charge carries power. Some people only get a moment in church, a quick feeling, but God is calling us to live charged. Stay plugged into His presence so that what is in you does not die when you leave the room. What you carry should outlast the service and go into your home, your work, and your relationships.
Carry the presence. Guard it like David. Value it like Moses. Receive it like the woman in Mark 5. Live like the apostles who were marked by it. Because when you carry His presence, you are carrying the very evidence that you have been with Jesus.
Prayer: Lord, I do not want to move without Your presence. Like David, I ask You not to take Your Holy Spirit from me. Teach me to value Your presence above everything else in my life. Let what I carry be evidence that I have been with Jesus. Charge my life with Your Spirit and let Your presence go with me today. Amen.
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