I am still confident of this: I
will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord; be strong and
take heart and wait for the Lord.
Psalm 27:13, 14
Back in the day… when Moses was leading
the people of Israel through the wilderness en route to the Promised Land, he
had an encounter with God born of desperation. This encounter culminated in
Moses asking of the Lord, “Now show me Your glory.” (Ex. 33:19)
God’s response to Moses’ request is
significant: In answer to Moses’ desire for a revelation of God’s glory, God
says, “I will cause all My goodness
to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim My Name, the Lord, in your
presence.” (Ex. 33:20 – my emphasis).
To Moses, in the midst of his wilderness
of pain and desperation, God manifested His glory in the form of His goodness.
The situation Moses found himself facing
was not of his own making. It had come about as a result of the treacherous
actions of the people he led. Within Moses a deep chasm of yearning opened up –
a longing to know God more intimately in this place of agonizing distress.
“… teach me Your way so I may know You…”
Did Moses not already know God? Of course
he did! He had spent hours and days and weeks in close communion with God. “The
Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend” (Ex.
33:11). Yet the agonizing circumstances Moses found himself in, brought him to
a place of even deeper dependence on and longing for God.
Like many of us, Moses could not see the
way forward from this point, but God gave him this promise and assurance: “My
Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest” (Ex.33:14).
What wilderness of pain, confusion and
distress are you facing right now? Have you been casting around, trying to find
a way forward, a way to resolution of the problems you are facing, a way to
healing?
We live in the information age and have
become conditioned to chasing up one perceived resource after
another. It’s time to stop the restless searching for answers that never
completely satisfy. It’s time to come aside with the Lord and in that place of
stillness with Him, ask Him to teach you His
way so that you may know Him more.
Not know the answers, the solutions, the remedies more – know Him more. It’s time to open that inner
chasm of yearning to all that God is, and ask Him to fill your landscape with
His glory.
He will answer with a revelation of His
unending goodness. And as your heart receives the wonder of all He is in His
boundless love and infinite faithfulness, you will come to a place of confident
rest in the Presence He has promised as much to us as He did to Moses: “Never
will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Heb. 13:5).
Then you too, will be able to proclaim
along with the psalmist: I am still
confident of this: I will see the goodness
of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take
heart and wait for the Lord.
