Moses had boldly asked for more assurance of God’s continual presence. But apparently that was not enough for him. I keep thinking of Peter here- always pushing, getting into people’s faces, demanding. Moses says to God,
“Now show me your glory.” Exodus 33
Wow! Pushy, huh? Can God handle it when we ask for more of Him? Uh, Yeah!
And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence.
But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
Have you ever seen pure goodness, pure holiness? I don’t think we would be able to stand it. Have you every looked through an arc welding helmet glass? It is so dark that you can hardly see even in broad daylight. But the arc is so bright that it is easily seen through the dark glass.
God makes an appointment with Moses for the following morning.
“I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back;but my face must not be seen.”
Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” Exodus 34
Wow! That is how our God describes Himself! Moses stayed with Him for 40 days without food or water. What an experience! Do you want more of God in your life? Do I recognize all the shortcomings in me that can only be remedied in Him? Ask. ASK! Say, ” Show me your glory in my life, Father!” Sometimes I wonder why some ministry endeavors in my life are not as visibly successful as I want them to be. Maybe I need to leave the results up to God. But maybe it is because I have not asked for more of Him!
When Moses finally came down the mountain after 40 days, his face shone so brightly that no one could look at him. In fact, they were afraid and ran away! Can those around me tell that I have been spending time with God? Do I reflect Him? Maybe my goal in life should be to simply reflect God’s love to everyone around me. How about you?
Part 2 of what was shared in the workiplace 11/23/09