Before God descended to earth and revealed Himself as a human in flesh as Jesus of Nazareth, He revealed Himself to the people living in Old Testament times in numerous tangible ways all throughout.
He was tangibly experienced as a pillar of smoke, a pillar of cloud, unconsumed blazing fire, and wind. He is seen and experienced over and over by His people in a tangible way.
He is very practically seen by Moses and the Israelites as He travels with them on their journey as the cloud by day and fire by night: “By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night” (Exodus 13:21).
God’s presence is so supernatural, and yet He comes to us through elements we can see and sense in this life, with the power and comfort of His presence, and the functional help of light and protection.
The Bible tells us that, in the case of the Israelites, He served tangibly as a cloud for covering and as fire to illuminate the dark: “who goes before you on your way, to seek out a place for you to encamp, in fire by night and cloud by day, to show you the way in which you should go” (Deuteronomy 1:33)
As time moved on, and we moved further and further away from God, God came down to us in the form of a human – as Jesus – to walk with, live with, to physically see and touch. And He left His divinely miraculous handprint on the earth through tangible healings. Most importantly, He used His divinity, His humanity, and His never-ending love for us to break us free from spiritual bondage.
Then, when He ascended and went back to heaven, He left His presence with us through the Holy Spirit — a tangibly seen and experienced mighty rush of wind at the day of Pentecost.
And He left with us a physical representation of Himself with us, through His divine power at work every day, in the form of food – something we can hold, taste, and smell – through communion, as a regular reminder of His available healing and forgiveness for us every single day as we move through life.
God is close to us, and He wants us to very tangibly experience His presence in every decade, era, century, and millenium. So, He comes to us as fire, wind, a cloud, in the flesh, and even as bread.
God is real, and He is speaking to us. He desires to have a relationship with us, because of His unconditional, unconsumed love for us as a present Father who provides for and protects His children. His love for us is powerful, mighty, undeniable and unending. He is so, so good.
Prayer Thank you, Father, for always being present, for always loving us, and for always providing for us – your children. 
I love you, Lord! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Sarah Guldalian 