Many followers of Jesus Christ do not realize who they are and what they carry. As a result, they will live a timid expression of their faith becoming bound in fear when they should move through life expressing God’s love and power with greater freedom.

The Ark of the Covenant was a physical structure of worship and authority where the mercy of God was displayed.  It was also a spiritual metaphor for New Covenant believers. The Ark in this present covenant represents our lives indwelled by the Spirit. 

After the temple was completed, Solomon said, “I have built this Temple to honor the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. There I have placed the Ark, which contains the covenant that the Lord made with the people of Israel” (II Chronicles 6: 10-11). Our covenant with God in both testaments is confirmed by the presence of His Spirit. It is God who is always with us no matter where He leads us.

As Solomon transitioned from an expression of worship to a prayer of dedication regarding the temple, he declared, “You keep your covenant and show unfailing love to all who walk before you in wholehearted devotion” (vs. 14). The Lord keeps His covenant agreement with us if we serve Him with a devoted heart to Him and His will. It is a covenant of mutual participation.

As we devote ourselves to God as the primary calling of our life, we will become a symbol of God’s love on earth, “And now arise, O Lord God, and enter your resting place, along with the Ark, the symbol of your power” (vs. 41). A symbol reminds us of something. The presence of God residing in His followers is the earthly symbol of the Lord’s power and presence now as it was when the Ark entered the temple under Solomon’s leadership. To carry and demonstrate His presence is our primary assignment in this life as it was in the Old Testament where the mere presence of God symbolized by the Ark made His enemies flee.

Our relationship with God’s Spirit has a condition, “If your descendants guard their behavior and faithfully follow my Law as you have done, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel” (vs. 16).

To understand the magnitude of who and what we carry will change how we will live this life. We will never enter a circumstance where the authority of Jesus Christ does not have the power to overcome resistance to His will. That is the confidence of the Church.