31 Days of Brave: Presence

Gentle Reader,

God relents. He will go to the Promised Land with the Hebrews.

So the Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.” – Exodus 33:17 (NKJV)

Moses could have stopped there. God invited him into the process. He listened to what Moses had to say. He promised to go with the people. But Moses went a step farther.

And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.” – Exodus 33:18 (NKJV)

Talk about bold! God could have zapped him. But again He honors Moses’ request.

Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” And the Lord said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock.  So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.” – Exodus 33:19-23 (NKJV)

Can’t you just picture it? Moses has spent more time with God than anyone else in the Bible up to that point, with the possible exceptions of Adam and Eve. He knows what it is to be in the thickness of God’s presence. He knows what it is to receive instruction from the sweet, majestic, audible voice of the Lord. And yet that isn’t enough. It seems that the more time Moses spent with God, the more time he wanted to spend. The more he sees of God, the more he wants to see. The more he experiences, the more he wants to experience.

That time spent with God? That’s what made Moses bold.

Bravery craves God’s presence.

  For all of the posts in the 31 Days: Brave series, go here.