“Everything we have done today was commanded by the Lord in order to purify you, making you right with him. Now stay at the entrance of the Tabernacle day and night for seven days, and do everything the Lord requires.”
—Leviticus 8:34–35, NLT
Up until this point, God had been preparing Aaron and his sons as leaders. Their ordination ceremony involved:
Cleansing before service
Changing of clothes to be set apart physically and spiritually
Anointing with oil
A sin offering, burnt offering, and an ordination offering
Now is the time when I’d imagine the ceremony would be complete. People would cheer. Aaron and his sons would jump right into their responsibilities. However, that isn’t what happened.
The ceremony wasn’t finished yet.
God commanded that they wait.
Day and night for seven days, Aaron and his sons were to wait at the entrance of the Tabernacle. If they failed to do this, it wouldn’t simply mean missing out on their role—it would mean death.
One after another—cleansing, dedication, and offerings took place. Then they were simply told: be patient.
Wait.
Everything had been happening so quickly. They were being prepared. They felt it. They experienced it. Then God got quiet, too. No movement. Just His presence—waiting with them.
God was drawing them closer—but He paused right here, right now.
Our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29).
Anything that comes close to Him unrefined and uninvited risks being consumed.
We all go through seasons where we don’t feel God’s presence, and we begin to wonder:
Have I sinned and not realized it?
Is anxiety clouding my connection with Him?
Have I been distracted or disobedient?
We pray for God to reveal any iniquity (Psalm 139:23–24), and we remind ourselves that God didn’t give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). Still, the feeling doesn’t return.
But what if we’ve become so focused on feeling God, that we forget how to simply trust Him?
What if the silence isn't distance...
but stillness?
What if we’ve confused spiritual stagnation with holy pause?
Discernment matters. If we’ve prayed and searched our hearts and still don’t know why we feel disconnected, perhaps we aren’t meant to panic—or try to fix something that isn’t broken.
Sometimes God is calling us to simply sit still with Him before He speaks again—just like Aaron and his sons (Leviticus 8), Moses on the mountain (Exodus 24:16), or even Jesus in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1–11).
🕯️ Prayer:
Lord,
I come before You in this moment with a heart of thanksgiving. Thank You for teaching me, guiding me, and never leaving my side—even when I can’t feel You near. In this moment, I know You are with me. Whether the feeling is there or not, You have not left my side.
If I have sinned against You, search my heart and reveal it to me, so that I may come closer to You. If I’m trying too hard to fix something that You haven’t called me to fix, bless me with Your peace and the ability to let go. Help me to discern whether this is a time of stillness that You require of me.
Satan has no dominion here to twist this season of stillness into anxiety or stagnation. Help me to continue to walk in obedience and to trust in You.
Let Your will be done, not mine.
Amen.