One of the most intriguing portions of Scripture for me is the dialogue between Moses and The Lord, found in Exodus 33:12-23.
When I think about Moses going before the Lord to intercede for His people, the people of Israel, only to say to Him, “If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here“, all I can think is — ‘same here, O Lord…same here.’
Moses knew that without God’s presence they would not be a nation set apart from other nations, so he reasoned very wisely when he said, “For how then can it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth?” Moses knew that without God’s presence, they were not the people He purposed and positioned them to be.
Same with us…..without God’s favor, we are wasting our energies and spinning our wheels in whatever it is that’s consuming our time and eating away at our attention. Without God’s favor, (His smile on whatever it is we are doing), we may be able to accomplish great things, but they won’t be revealing an even greater God who displays His nature through His blazing glory!
But, when we are found with favor in God’s sight, then whatever our hands finds to do, whatever the mission is, whatever the calling is, we will live as one of His pioneer women! A trailblazer!
You see, when God told Moses that He did find favor with Moses, then Moses asked a very bold and brave prayer. He said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!” Did God respond to his request to SEE MORE OF HIM? That is literally what Moses so desperately wanted more than anything…to see more of God. To paraphrase, he was asking, “I pray You, I want to see more of you!” God’s answer included cautionary measures in order for Moses to see more of Him than what he was already experiencing, otherwise he would die. This is why God responded to Moses by saying:
19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” 21 And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, 22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”
Whatever Moses saw of God’s nature, His grace and compassion, transformed into blazing light, and was experienced only in seeing God’s back.
So, here’s what I’m asking myself today and would like to ask you to think about too…
Do I long to experience God’s presence and favor in my life?
Do I long to see MORE of Him? To experience as much of His glory as I can handle?
Do I long to be one of His true pioneer women? A trailblazer? A person who makes a new track, an innovator for the kingdom of God and for His Name sake?
My prayer is Moses’ bold and brave prayer – “… let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight.” (vs. 13).
I want to get up each new morning, set about the entrepreneurial calling and industry and hard work that He has created me to do — while seeking to know Him more! To see Him more in personal experiences with the blazing glory of His nature in and through my life! It’s God’s response that I want to be my motivation:
“Behold, there is a place with Me, and you shall stand there on the rock,” (vs 21), the sure Rock of Jesus Christ.
A Pioneer Woman at Heart,
lisa
