God and Christ desire to sit on the throne that is found in every human being. We must get off the throne of our personality and permit God to sit there.

When God is satisfied that your house has been made ready to His satisfaction, that He reigns fully over your thoughts, words, and actions, He will permit you to join Him on the throne of your own heart. Now you are ready to be God's heart and hand extended to His creation.

Our goal is the spiritual experience typified by the feast of Tabernacles of the Old Testament. This is what we long for—to be the dwelling place of God; to be forever at rest in the center of God's Person, just as the Lord Jesus is.

But we cannot jump from the Pentecostal experience to the Tabernacles experience. In between is the Blowing of Trumpets and the dreadful Day of Atonement, the time when the enemies in our personality are judged.

The Day of Atonement, the reconciliation to God's Person that we are to experience, is set forth in the Old Testament as the period during which God's anger is expressed against us and we go through a time of darkness.

In that day you will say: "I will praise you, O LORD. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me." (Isaiah 12:1—NIV)

"In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you," says the LORD your Redeemer. (Isaiah 54;8—NIV)

Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. (Hosea 6:1—NIV)

Notice that in every case the Lord expresses His anger at the sin in our personality. Jerusalem always receives double for her sins.

But then the Lord turns to us and binds up what has been torn to pieces.

If you are going through such an experience, take heart. You are in a tunnel, not a grave. You will come forth into the light again. God is utterly faithful and will never forsake you.

Remember, you are Israel ("he struggles with God"). Your struggle is not with Satan or with people but with God. You can forget about your enemies. God will take care of them. Keep your eyes fastened on the Lord Jesus Christ.

We who are members of Christ's Church, His Body, have been called out from the ranks of mankind to be the dwelling place of God. As such we endure numerous dealings of God as He prepares us to be members of the governing priesthood.

In actuality, we are going through this program for the sake of other people, for the sake of those who one day will be presented to us as an inheritance.

Because of God's love for those people whom we will serve as priests and kings, God is removing from our personality all that is hurtful. When God presents our inheritance to us, and us to those people, He wants them to be receiving His glory and blessing, not our sinful, self-seeking personality.

To be continued.