In the Old Testament, the glory of God is symbolized by a pillar of fire and cloud following His people leaving Egypt: ” By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night” (Exodus 13:21). And later, once the Ark of the Covenant was placed the tabernacle and later in the temple in Jerusalem, the glory of God symbolized His presence among His people. My brother, my sister, your body having become the temple of God, the glory of God therefore resides within you! But, now, what does that mean? That His glory that comes in forms of blessings and favour through His mighty presence is also with us, going ahead of us to guide us in the wilderness of this life and to guard us from the attacks of the enemy. However, when we read today’s passage, we also learn that the glory of God can depart from us as a result of our negligence, sin, disobedience, idolatry, all those things we do that are unpleasant to the Lord! As a result, this will make our house desolate, in other words, an abandoned ruin because God has left. Yes, the glory of God can depart from you, my friend: Ichabod is when God leaves our house. Unfortunately, so many believers and even churches take the grace of God for granted… and walk their Christian life at random as if God overlooks their wicked actions. My friend, no true believer should take the glory of God in our midst for granted, lest they wake up one day and realise that Ichabod has become a reality in their lives. The sad truth is that, when this happens, they will be the last to see it or even realise it, just like the religious leaders of Israel did not even know their house had become desolate until Jesus told them: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate” (Matthew 23:37-38). My friend, it is worth self-examining ourselves today to check that we are still walking in the glory of the Lord. Stay blessed in Jesus’ name. [retweet] [facebook]