EXPERIENCING MORE OF GOD:

"The Lord replied, "I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will call out my name, 'The Lord,' to you. I will show kindness to anyone I choose, and I will show mercy to anyone I choose." - (Exodus 33:19)

Ken and I are reading God's Little Devotional book, along with Oswald Chambers, as our morning devotions. It is a daily devotional that covers the entire Bible in just one year. It's a great way to discipline oneself to not only have daily devotions, but to tie them all in with scripture readings. This morning we read Exodus 33 and how Moses wanted to see the Lord's Glory! God had been telling Moses to take His people up to the Promised Land. Moses was asking God who He would send with him...the Lord God told Moses: "I will personally go with you, Moses. I will give you rest--everything will be fine for you!" Then Moses told the Lord God that if He didn't go with them they wouldn't move a step. Moses needed the assurance of God there beside him at all times. Don't we all?

Moses had one more request of God. He wanted to see His glorious presence. He wanted to experience more of God's comforting nearer presence and see His glory! Isn't a clear vision of God important to all of us? Even though God told Moses he wouldn't be able to look upon His face directly, He comforted Moses by telling him he would hide His face from Moses as He passed by him. I began to think how much I feel like that also. I too, desire to experience God's glorious presence and I pray He will never leave my side. I began to meditate on all the ways I do experience God's presence in my life each day. It made me think of all the people I know that love God. For me, there are only two kinds of people in the world...those who love the Lord God and those who don't! And it is not my call to judge those who don't! Our call is to make God known to those who know Him not!

The one amazing thing is that God loves both of these kinds of people. God loves those who love Him and He also loves those who don't! This is sometimes hard for us to understand. In our scripture reading, (Exodus 33:19), God makes it clear He will show kindness and mercy to anyone He chooses! The scene in Exodus 33 shows Moses growing spiritually in remarkable ways. Isn't this what happens to us when we seek to know God more and experience His presence? God begins to come to us in the most unbelievable circumstances and situations. And through the most unlikely people! In other words...God shows up when we least expect Him, to remind us that His ways are not our ways, nor His thoughts our thoughts!

In our very immature spirituality we like to think that God only favors those whom we feel measure up to our standards of discipleship. Not so! Those whom we may never consider to be shown kindness and mercy, the Lord just may have other plans for. When we catch glimpses of love being shown, of people who reach out to others in kindness despite the way they have been treated, we just may see that glint of understanding with our newly opened eyes. God is always full of surprises for us and we miss quite a few of those by our own blindness of faith.

How has God come to you lately to show you His glorious presence? Perhaps it came to you through a dark and stormy time in your life or that of a loved one. Or it could have been a great blessing of an answered prayer! Yes! God's glorious presence comes to us through the eye of the dark, scary storms, as well as the joyous miracles that blow us away at times. And even in just the little everyday, common happenings, of our life.Life is filled with pressures upon us from all areas of our lives; spiritually, emotionally, physically and financially. How do we survive under all this? God's people not only survive...they thrive because we have a God who makes His glorious presence known to us!

Just as Moses' experience with God's Holy presence transformed his life and gave him the courage to continue leading the Israelites...we too, can experience this faith-changing wilderness experience in our life. As God draws closer to us and we draw closer to God, He will provide us with all the strength we need, as well as the faith and vision to walk, run, and not grow weary!

Our God is a God of compassion. He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. God is patient, loving, trustworthy, forgiving and just! As we open our hearts and lives to Him each day we can experience Him in new ways. New ways that reveal to us the potential that God has for each one of us. We have no need to fear where He may be leading us this day because He promises to go with us every step of the way...just like He did with Moses!

May we all experience His glorious presence today and always! I challenge you to look for God this day in all you do. If you do, you will experience Him in the most amazing, surprising ways. Some people call them: "God Moments" - "God Finds" - "Blessings" - I call them: - "God's glorious presence". May we all experience more of God! Amen!