David knew where to go. He knew where to go when he was being attacked by foreign countries and he knew where to go when enemies arose from within his own house. He knew. He knew this was where he belonged when he made mistakes. Not just those little mistakes that all of us make from time to time. He made some cataclysmic, life altering, destiny shifting mistakes. When he made those mistakes he knew where to go. He’d been there before and he knew the benefits of going to this place. When David made his mistake with Bathsheba he desperately asked God not to remove him from this place.
Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. (NLT)
The most wonderful and glorious thing about this place is that it was not a geographical location. David did not have to journey far to be there and no matter how far he journeyed, he was always near to this place. It traveled with him but he did not possess it. He had complete access to it but it was not his to give. He could point people to this location but not everyone would find it and some didn’t care to. He could invite people to this place and while it would be the same place, it would look and feel different to each person that arrived. This place belongs to the godly. The upright. The righteous. Yet, God’s desire is that all would find their way to this place. David says it this way:
Your godly lovers will thank you no matter what happens. For they choose and cherish your presence above everything else. (TPT)
Life will distract from you this place and the enemy will inundate you with bad directions so that you never find your way back to this place, or better yet, never find this place at all. Yet like a lighthouse in the storm God desires desperately that you find this place and that you spend as much time there as possible. Where is this place? It’s in His presence. Restoration happens in His presence. Healing happens in His presence. His presence goes with us (Exodus 33:14). We can’t flee from it (Psalm 139:7). We find it when we seek it (Jeremiah 29:13). The upright dwell there (Psalm 140:13). It’s a place of Grace and Mercy (Hebrews 4:16).
We cannot use location as an excuse to not be in this place, nor can we say we ran out of time. His presence is always accessible. We must simply desire to dwell there. We only leave this place when we choose to.
The living God dwells in us and around us and we must be comfortable resting in that place. We must take our hurts, offenses, disappointments, bitterness, and doubt to this place – sometimes daily. In His presence insecurities fade, hurts are healed, and hard hearts are exchanged for hearts of flesh once more. Find your way to that place. Don’t delay, don’t neglect, and don’t excuse away it’s value. You belong in that place. You have an invitation and he can’t wait to see you.