đź‘‹ Hello ,
I never enjoyed my devotion time. I was inconsistent. I felt dry. And I blamed everything, my schedule, my season, spiritual warfare, the devil.
Until one day, I shifted one thing: I started treating prayer like a meeting with someone I couldn’t afford to miss.
A Moment That Changed Everything
So, one day, a friend showed up at my door unannounced. right at my prayer time. No real reason. Just hanging around. Every excuse to skip my prayer time was right there, gift-wrapped.
But something in me had changed.
I looked at him and said, “Please, I’ll be right back, I have an important meeting I can’t miss.”
I left him in my room. Walked to the back of the hospital theatre. And there, I met with God.
That became my weapon against every whisper, every distraction, every “just this once.”
Not devotion. Not discipline.
A meeting.
The Law of the Meeting Place
Exodus 33:7 (KJV)
“And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the LORD went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp.”
Let me show you something powerful in this verse.
1. “And Moses took the tabernacle…” (Moses took responsibility)
Spiritual life does not begin with waiting for feelings, signs, or permission. It begins when a man takes responsibility for divine encounter.
2. He pitched it—fixed, established, planted
Not when inspired. Not when convenient. A pitched tent is a decided place, not a wandering desire.
3. He moved it away from the camp
This is the cutting edge of the verse.
The camp represents noise. Distraction. Endless scrolling. Notifications. Even good Christian activity that never leads to actual encounter.
The tabernacle was not in the middle of activity, it was separated.
The further the tent from the camp, the clearer the voice of God.
4. He called it the Tabernacle of the congregation, the meeting place
Names reveal purpose.
He called it the place of meeting.
A meeting implies:
- Time (it’s scheduled)
- Place (it’s located)
- Expectation (someone is waiting)
- Faithfulness (you show up whether you feel like it or not)
As you read further, you’ll see that only those who sought the LORD went out to meet Him. Take a moment to think about that.
Here’s What Nobody Tells You
If there’s no fixed meeting place in your life, your dryness isn’t mysterious, it’s explained.
If there is no regular showing up, your silence from heaven is not delay, it is absence of attendance.
Two Possible Futures
Let me paint you two pictures.
Future 1: You Close This Email and Do Nothing
Six months from now, you’ll still be in the same place spiritually.
Still feeling distant. Still skipping prayer when life gets busy.
You’ll read another book. Try another method. Download another app.
But nothing will change, because you never pitched the tent.
Future 2: You Take the Challenge
Seven days from now, something will have shifted, not because you felt something dramatic, but because you marked your attendance in the spirit.
Thirty days from now, you’ll realize you’ve stopped making excuses. The meeting has become non-negotiable.
Ninety days from now, people will start asking you what’s different. You’ll carry a weight. A centeredness. An awareness of Presence that wasn’t there before. And you’ll begin to understand what Moses knew:
God doesn’t fail appointments.
We do.
The 7-Day Attendance Challenge
This might feel awkward at first. Start anyway.
For the next 7 days, treat this like an appointment with your doctor, boss, or business client, someone you would never miss for any reason:
- Choose a fixed time each day (keep it consistent, if possible).
- Choose one place (keep it consistent, if possible).
- When the time comes, show up, even if you feel nothing. Say: “Lord, I have come to keep my appointment.” Just be there. Try talking with God as you would if you could see Him there. Remember we see God through the lens of faith.
- Stay for the assigned time. Maybe 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, or even more (1 hour or more is ideal. I’ll tell you why in one of the future emails).
Your main goal at this time is attendance.
If you don’t know what to be doing, you can download this free 7-Day Spiritual Reset Workbook and make use of it.
That’s it.
If you miss a day, don’t compensate. Don’t condemn yourself. Just show up the next day.
At first, you may feel nothing. But something eternal is happening: you’re marking your attendance in the spirit.
If you faithfully show up, one day to your greatest surprise you will hear God clearly.
And you’ll discover something humbling and glorious:
He’s been there before you arrived.
Prayer Points
Father, I take responsibility for divine encounter—deliver me from passive spirituality in the name of Jesus.
By faith, I mark my attendance in the spirit—whether I feel You or not, I will show up.
Let every appetite that competes with Your Presence lose its grip over my life now.
O God, meet me at the place of discipline and consistency; let my obedience provoke Your response.
I declare that dryness will not stop me, delay will not discourage me, and silence will not turn me back.
As I go out to seek You, let my life become a tabernacle of meeting, carrying Your presence everywhere I go.
“Lord, I have come to keep my appointment.
I am here.
I will return.
And I will not live outside Your Presence.”
Now go. Pitch your tent. Mark your attendance.
The meeting is set. God doesn’t fail appointments.
You’re reading Breakthrough Bread, a weekly devotional from Evergrowing Christians. Hungry for more? Click here to enjoy a slice of previous Breakthrough Bread.
Christ is our standard.
Until we become like Him, we are not to cease growing in grace…
“It is sufficient for a disciple that he be as his master.” — Luke 6:40
With grace and fire,
Paulinus Joel
Evergrowing Christians
P.S: If you take this challenge, I want to hear what happens. Reply to this email and tell me: Did you show up? What changed? I read every response.
