Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Reflections on Exodus 33

Here is an old leadership reflection of mine from February 2005, just after moving to Litchfield. It still seemed very helpful, so I thought I would share it here.

The other day I was reading through Exodus 33, and I was struck by Moses’ statements and requests to God in verses 12-23. Here he is in the midst of being commissioned to lead several million people to the promised land, and he knows that without God’s help this will be an impossible task. Therefore, he asks God for some specific things, and I felt they applied to our situations as well.

First, he asks to understand God’s will for him and for the people in verses 12 & 13. God responses by saying don’t worry I will go with you. God seems to be saying that you don’t have to worry about all the details in the future, because I will be with you each step of the way to show you what comes next. God had already given them a broad picture of the future, now he wants them to stay close enough to him that they have to rely on him for the details.

Second, Moses then asks for God to go with them personally. Moses says that they will not move until they know God is with them and that they are his special people. The LORD replies that he will answer Moses prayer to be with them because he loves Moses and considers him his friend.

Finally, Moses asks God to show him his glory. God says, that he can only show him part of his glory because otherwise Moses would die. I also found it interesting that part of God’s glory is his goodness, which in part means his kindness and mercy. In asking God to show him his glory, Moses was asking God to reveal His nature to him.

Here are some thought that might apply to us in this scripture. We need to make call out to God for direction and vision, but remember that the best way to know his direction is to have him walking with us. Therefore, we need to make sure that we are seeking his presence in our lives personally and corporately. He does love us and if we seek his presence he will go with us and guide us.

Finally, when we seek him we should seek his glory. When we see God we will be transformed into his likeness, and furthermore the problems of this world will seem like nothing compared to his goodness.

The starting point any church is to seek the Lord. I encourage you to daily seek him, even if it is just a few minutes. Let’s commit together not to move unless we know his presence is with us.

I hope these thoughts have been helpful.

Your brother and friend,

Pastor Mike Sechler

Matt 6:33-34

33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well