Show Me Your Face
I woke up this morning with this song resonating in my heart. The chorus goes a little something like this, “Put me in a place…where I can see Your face…” and it just continues to repeat and modulate. Without fail, every time the song gets to this point, my spirit continues to intensify, because its something about the way it strikes my soul! I think of a lover longing for their love…longing to be in their presence. Whether near or far, you cry out of desperation, “Show me your face!” There may have been some bumps along the way in the relationship, where grace and mercy was needed, but pride aside…show me your face! This brings me to Moses when he pleas with God and says, “Now show me your glory!”
“Then show me your glorious presence.” ~Exodus 33:18
God responds by saying that no one can see His face and live, but offers something else instead:
“…I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will call out my name, Yahweh, before you…but you may not look directly at my face, for no one may see me and live.” ~Exodus 33:19
Imagine that! God caused all of His goodness to pass in front of Moses and proclaimed His OWN name! Wow! God is so GREAT, that we can’s even stand -both literally and mentally- to see Him! Talk about power! But instead He allows His goodness to pass before us! Here, more than our mere request, God is offering something greater…something that we can actually withstand to behold. Amazing!
“For surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” ~Psalm 23:6
Some modern biblical translations use the word pursue in lieu of follow. Whatever it is, I’ll take it!
When you consider the prophet Moses from his birth to his death, he was a man that walked closely with God. Viewing his life story, we see Moses hidden by his mother in a basket; navigating the waters of the Nile River as an infant to escape the annihilation of Hebrew-boy newborns, later to be discovered by the daughter of Pharaoh, adopted, and raised as an Egyptian in the royal palace. Now we hail Moses as Prince of Egypt! Who would’ve thought that during his time of reign, he would be on the run…fleeing the palace for his life as a fugitive with a price on his head for murder. Yes, murder. As Moses resorted to a life of exile, it was there that he encountered the Lord and the notorious account of the burning bush takes place. As his life story continues, Moses begins to act as a -what we would call now a days – social change agent. On behalf of the children of Israel, God begins to use him in mighty and miraculous ways! For instance, we can recall the parting of the Red Sea, water pouring out of a rock, the receiving of the ten commandments, and I won’t spoil it…you’ll have to read the rest for yourself!
So to reiterate and recap…
We have Moses -abandoned as a baby to be spared from execution, who later turns into a prince, who then morphs into a shepherd of flock, and ultimately a shepherd of people leading them to the Promise Land. But on the contrary, you also see weaved into Moses’ story the time spent wandering in the wilderness for forty years; as a leader, enduring the ongoing complaints of finicky followers; and suffering from an identity crisis and dealing with his own self-doubts and self-admitted insecurities. Given Moses’ history, it’s fair to say that there were times where he questioned his identity and his place in society. And here in this chapter of Exodus, we find him…in this verse…at this place in his life where he is crying out, “God show me your glory!” A reader might wonder, “Haven’t you see enough of God’s glory? Enough to leave no room for doubt about his greatness? Moses…you are one of the ones that has walked as close to God than any of us ever will…so what’s up?” And yet…he demands, “SHOW ME YOUR GLORY!”God’s response blows my mind, because he tells Moses that He will proclaim His own name! Whoa! And we know God to be Yahweh…the I AM THAT I AM!
If you think even for a moment that I chose to recount the essence of this story twice due to failed memory, you’re wrong. This was an intentional act to get you to really absorb the message that I’m trying to convey. Do you ever find yourself like Moses in the middle of an identity crisis? Finding it hard to fit in? Battling with your insecurities? Struggling…even though you know you’ve been called by God? What is your Exodus? What are you exiting from? What “promise land” is God trying to take you to?
My prayer is that after reading this devotion, these questions will jump start you into rediscovering who you are, whom God says you are, and grant you opportunities to digest, accept, and walk into the calling that God has placed on your life!
“…I am chosen, not forsaken…I am who You say I am…You are for me…not against me…I am who You say I am…” ~Hillsong Worship