I've been reading about the life of Moses in my devotions lately. Moses asked God to show him His glory, and God graciously did so. There on Mt. Sinai, God descended in a cloud and stood with Moses and proclaimed His own name and character to Moses.
I can't imagine it, standing there in the cloud of God's glory, and hearing God's mighty voice, the voice that spoke the word and this whole universe came into being. ( Psalm 29 is a great chapter to read if you want some further revelation about the power and majesty of God's voice. ) It was such a powerful encounter, that Moses stayed there in the presence of God for forty days. When Moses finally came down from the mountain, his countenance shone with the glory of God.
The good news is that God desires a personal encounter with each one of us. He wants to reveal Himself, His wonderful majesty, His great mercy and grace, His abundant loving kindness and His foundational, unwavering truth to you and to me. Moses asked God for this encounter, he obeyed God's directions, and then he stayed in God's presence. In my own life, I say I want to know God more, I want a personal revelation of His greatness, His love and His mercy and grace, but I hurry through my time with Him all too often. When I lay aside my own agenda and spend some unhurried time worshiping along to worship music, reading the Bible and journaling what God is saying to me, and doing the kind of praying that is less about getting through my list of prayer requests and more about heart to heart communicating, I come away both satisfied and longing for more.
We all lead busy lives. We've all got plenty of reasons why we don't have time to really seek God, to encounter Him in a deep and life-changing way. Moses had millions of reasons He could have used as an excuse, millions of those stubborn, stiff necked people he was supposed to be leading. The last time Moses had left them so he could go spend time with God on Mt. Sinai, that whole nasty golden calf episode had occurred. Obviously, the children of Israel could not be trusted to be left to their own devices. Yet, Moses obeyed God and climbed Mt. Sinai one more time, leaving the children of Israel down below while he met with God for forty days. Moses's example encourages and inspires me to trust God with my to-do list and to make spending time in His presence my priority.
still following,
I can't imagine being with Moses when He heard from God either but how glorious it must have been. Thank you for this reflection today. Sunday blessings!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mary, for stopping by!
DeleteI couldn't agree more, Elizabeth! I love spending time with the Lord and not rushing through to get to my daily tasks. It's not an easy discipline to develop, but it is one that I know has helped to hold my life and marriage together. Where would we be with out our dear Savior and Lord! Thanks for this encouragement!
ReplyDeleteEven our stumbling attempts to spend more time in God's presence, captivates His great heart! He loves us so!
DeleteI've always read my Bible but I don't think I'm there yet in doing as much studying as I want!! Is that thirsting after God's Word?? But sometimes my brain gets full. Overwhelmed. So I read my Bible but have to just erase all emails for I become overwhelmed. And my study falters. So I've given myself freedom to study Gods Word and read devotionals as my brain can handle. I love my Lord.
ReplyDeleteGwen, God loves you so much and sees your heart and knows that you love Him and desire to know and understand His Word.
DeleteI always loved watching the movie about Moses and everytime I get goose bumps at the scene of the burning bush......how amazing that would be!! You'd think that alone would drive one to their Bible to soak up all they could at once, but sadly it doesn't work that way in our hurried world and all the to-dos in our lives. I must resolve to set a special time to spend with my Lord and listen to His Word....his guidance and instruction for my life.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing Elizabeth!!