A great truth about life is that at times things that happen can hold us back. In other words, sometimes we experience situations, or we have to go through circumstances that weaken and/or discourage us. Sometimes we have to go through situations that rob our peace, and attempt to make us lose sight of the solution. In other words, circumstances or situations that make us question God's purpose. I would say that the main reason why this happens to us is because most of us have not fully experienced God’s presence in our life. Why haven’t we fully experienced God's presence in our life?
We haven’t fully experienced God’s presence in our life because we haven’t been actively seeking it. In other words, we only seek God’s presence when we find ourselves in tight spots, or when we want something. Why do we act this way? We act this way because we haven’t become completely convinced that God’s presence is the only thing that can strengthen, and help us overcome the obstacles that arise. Now the question we must ask is: How should we seek God’s presence in our life? Let’s now turn to the Word of God to explore this issue.
Exodus 33:13-15 - Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” 14And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.”
Like I always say, in order to have a better understanding of the message that God has for us today, we will need to conduct a brief history review. The verses we are exploring today are part of Jehovah's promise to be with Israel, and to cast out the people who occupied the Promised Land. But prior to these verses we find that the Lord says that He wouldn’t be with them because of the hardness of their heart. This is something that is very clear in Exodus 33:1-3 when we read: “…Then the LORD said to Moses, “Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give it.’ 2And I will send My Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 3Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked (stiff-necked: from the Hebrew word: “qasheh” that means: “hard, cruel, severe, obstinate”.[1]) people…” Needless to say, this produced great despair among the people. This is something that is very evident in Exodus 33:4 when we read: “…And when the people heard this bad news, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments…”
Something that also happened is that the hardness of their heart led Moses to in a certain way separate himself from the main population. This is something that is clearly reflected in Exodus 33:7 when we read: “…Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the LORD went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp…”
Why do we need to know these details? We need to know these details because in them we find a clear reflection of what can stop us from fully experiencing God’s presence in our life, and the results that this will produce. What do I mean by this? What I’m saying is that being stiff-necked, in other words not to being humble and not being willing to get rid of our pride and arrogance, will result God’s presence to distance itself from us. And once this happens, just as in the people of that time, we will feel bad and distant from the church, which is the Body of Christ. So keeping these things in mind let’s now continue our study for today.
The first thing that we see here is that Moses tells God: “…Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people…” What we are seeing here is part of the conversation that Moses had with God, that is, Moses’ prayer, and the key words here are: “…show me now Your way…” Why do I say that these are the keywords? I say that these are the key words because as I said at the beginning, most of us seek God only when we find ourselves in a tight spot, or when we want something. What do we do?
What we do is to immediately seek God to have Him solve our difficulty, or fulfill our want. In other words we are constantly coming before God’s presence asking Him to intervene in what’s happening to us, when in reality this is not what we should be constantly doing. With this I’m not saying or implying that we shouldn’t ask God to help us at certain times, as we all know, God is attentive to our prayers and wants to help us. This is something that is extremely clear in the words of the Lord as found in Matthew 7:7-8 when we read: “…Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened…” But what I’m saying is that we shouldn’t form the habit of only seeking God during difficult times, or when we want something; our prayers must be to seek more than just a simple solution. What should we constantly seek? What we should constantly seek is God’s presence in our life.
Why is it so important to constantly seek God’s presence in our life? We must constantly seek God’s presence in our life because God’s presence is what will change us from being a mediocre Christian, to being a Christian with purpose. God’s presence in our life will change the way we see the church. God’s presence in our life will strengthen us so that we may be able to change and be the way that God wants us to be. God’s presence in our life will help us in our walk, which will result in a dramatic change in our testimony. In other words, God’s presence in our life is the only thing that will produce a total change in us; a change that the world will not be able to ignore. Why won’t the world be able to ignore this change?
The world won’t be able to ignore the change that God’s presence in our life produces because God’s presence will provide us with rest and will strengthen us to overcome all problems or adversities. It’s like the Lord tells us in John 16:33 when we read: “…These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world…” And also in the words of the apostle as we find in Philippians 4:6-7 when we read: “…Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus…” We have to go above and beyond a casual relationship with God. We have to truly reach God’s presence. What happens once we achieve this?
The answer to this question is well summed up in what happened to the demon possessed Gadarene man as found in Mark 5:6-8 when we read: “…When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. 7And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.” 8For He said to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!..” Brethren, when we really have God’s presence in our life, then the demons have to bend their knees, and they must run from us. When we truly have God’s presence in our life, the enemy will scream in panic. Why? The answer to this question is clearly stated in Philippians 2:9-11 when we read: “…Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father…” Tell the person sitting next to you: seek God’s presence.
How should we seek God’s presence? Continuing with our study we read: “…If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here…” The truth of the matter is that as human beings, we all have internal struggles, and these internal struggles at times cause us to distance ourselves from God’s will. I say this because all of us continually fight or struggle with our emotions, feelings, impulses, desires, and ambitions. With this I’m not saying that all of these feelings and desires are bad; however, some of them are inspired or orchestrated by evil. We must always be very careful that these wishes and or desires don’t lead us to become stiff-necked or hard hearted people.
This is why we should always keep fresh in our mind what we find in Deuteronomy 8:11-14 when we read: “…Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, 12lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; 13and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; 14when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage…” Tell the person sitting next to you: “…do not forget the LORD your God…”
A great reality is that the majority of us sometimes stumble and fall. In other words we stray from God’s will. This is something that is well reflected in Isaiah 53:6 when we read: “…All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all…” But glory to God, that although sometimes we drift away, once we recognize our mistakes and genuinely repent, He receives, pardons and restores us. This is something that the Lord left well illustrated in the verses that deal with the woman who had been caught in adultery, whom the town looked to stone as we find in John 8:10-11 when we read: “…When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” 11She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more…” But the key to all of this is found here when He said: “…go and sin no more….” The reality is that we can’t continue a sinful life and say that we enjoy God’s presence. The reality is that if we think this way, we are only lying to ourselves. This is something that is well reflected in 1 John 2:4 when we read: “…He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him…” Tell the person sitting next to you: sin separates us from God’s presence. How can we avoid being separated from God’s presence?
We can avoid being separated from God’s presence by doing and saying as Moses said: “…If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here…” This is how we must seek God’s presence in our life. We must say to Him to the Lord: all I want is your presence in my life. We must stop looking to God for the material things, and start looking to Him for the spiritual. This is something that the Lord clearly tells us in Matthew 6:33 when we read: “…But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you…” Now I ask: when was the last time that we prayed asking God only for His presence? When was the last time that we prayed without any other agenda or request? When was the last time that we said: Father all I want is your presence in my life? If we are honest with ourselves, the majority of us we will recognize that this is something we rarely, if ever, have done. And this is why we must begin praying saying: “…If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here…” In other words, to say to Him: Lord I don’t want to be anywhere where you are not. Say to Him: Father all I seek is your presence and nothing else. To say to Him: Lord I don’t want prosperity or wealth, all I want is your presence. Tell the person sitting next to you: seek God’s presence.
In conclusion; we must seek God's presence in our life at all times. We need to stop setting our sights on the earthly, and seek the spiritual. We have to stop being believers with a mediocre relationship with God, and become faithful believers who rely on God’s presence in our life.
Let’s never forget that just as God’s people back then felt the remoteness of His presence in their life, if we don’t actively seek His presence in our life, then we risk being distanced from our heavenly Father. Let’s never forget that seeking and obtaining God’s presence in our life is the only thing that strengthens us in difficult times. Seeking and obtaining God's presence in our life is the only thing that gives us the victory every time. It’s just like Psalms 114:7 tells us when we read: “…Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, At the presence of the God of Jacob…” The believer that actively seeks God's presence in their life experiences to a new spiritual level, and he and his family experience the strength that only God can give. Let’s never forget: “…The LORD is their strength, And He is the saving refuge of His anointed…” (Psalm 28:8).
[1] Blue Letter Bible Lexicon
