Psalms 121:8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

If you have never come into the presence of the Lord, then I do not have any way to impress this point on you. It is a solemn event, private, exclusive and guarded. It is only to be compared, perhaps, to the privacy enjoyed by husband and wife. It is a time to be enjoyed and cherished.

Rather than focusing on the preservation of privacy, I would like to point to the essence of the going out and the coming in. There are so many comparative thoughts here which could demonstrate the necessity, they all fail to encompass the experience.

If I said you went in to refuel like getting gas, you would see it as a source of energy. If I said it were to restock your pantry, you would see it as a source of provision. If I said you went in to know the will of the Father, then it would be to receive orders. If I go in as a son, perhaps He would have me come out and say, “Father wants you to know…”

The essence of the in and out is that both places have to be experienced and you cannot stay to long in one place or the other without both suffering loss. This relationship between being in the presence of the Lord and being with mankind is the crankshaft of the motor to obedience of faith. It is faith in motion.