Random - Or Maybe Not

Yesterday was a long day.  I drove home from Florida with a sleeping dachsund as my travel companion.  Thirteen hours in the car is a long time!!!  Lots of time for thinking about all sorts of things.  It was Thursday......my day to pray for you.....but because I didn't get on-line before I left, I didn't remind me to send your prayer requests.  So, I just prayed for whoever and whatever God brought to mind.  Quite a variety of things, I can assure you.  So, while it may have seemed random to anyone who might have been able to overhear (yes, I was praying out loud while I drove.  Molly didn't care.  She was still sleeping.), I think there was really no randomness at all, since it was God who brought all those things to my mind.  I know He did, because I asked Him to!  He's good about things like that!

My thoughts also wandered (again, seemingly random) to the tabernacle in the wilderness, and I reviewed the structure of the tabernacle and pondered the verses that came to mind.

I remembered that there was only one doorway to the tabernacle; one way in to meet with God.  And I remembered "I am the door" (John 10:9) and "I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." (John 14:6).

I remembered the bronze altar of sacrifice.  And I remembered "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." (John 1:29).

I remembered the laver for cleansing.  And I remembered "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  (1 John 1:9).

I remembered the table of showbread, the lampstand, and the altar of incense in the holy place.

The showbread reminded me "I am the bread of life." (John 6:48).
The lampstand reminded me "I am the light of the world."  (John 8:12).
The altar of incense reminded me "He (Jesus) ever lives to make intercession for us." (Hebrews 7:25) and  "the smoke of the incense which are the prayers of the saints went up before God." (Rev. 8:4).

I thought about the holy of holies, behind the veil, where the ark of the covenant and the mercy seat sat.  And I remembered that "we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus."
(Hebrews 10:19).

So I spent a lot of time in the car.  I thought a lot about these Scriptures and others. (In the interest of full disclosure, I didn't remember all those references!!  Some of them I looked up this morning!!). I prayed for friends and family, for situations I'm aware of, for current political events in our country and around the world.  I sang.  I experienced the presence of God.  I worshiped.

So perhaps it wasn't so random after all!