Show Me Your Glory!

“Then Moses said, ‘Now show me your glory.’ And the LORD said, ‘I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,’ he said, ‘you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.’ Then the LORD said, ‘There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.’” Exodus 33:19-23.

This was the plea of a man who was totally exasperated with the charge God had given him regarding leading the children of Israel. Through God, Moses had shown the Israelites time after time the provision and protection of the Almighty God only for them to cast Him aside with a golden calf. Moses knew God was near the end of His rope with their disobedience and Moses had come to the end of his strength. I love how he cried out as we all relate when we are faced with a situation where we just want resolution. He not only cried out for God’s glory and deliverance but began his entreaty with “Now!”

How many times have I cried out to the LORD to bring in the glory, the rescue, and the end of a string of terrible circumstances. What we ask for is many times not in our best interest as in the case of Moses. He couldn’t handle the extent of that which he was asking. I had a personal example of this where God put me in a cleft and covered my eyes with His hand. For the first time last November, I asked God to show me whether my sister, Beth would receive an earthly healing or a spiritual healing. I spent most days with her and assisted in the medical and emotional piece regarding her situation. I had never asked God for this revelation because I wanted Him to use me in an unbridled manner without my own agenda and beliefs interjected. He led me to certain verses which penetrated my heart and nudged me towards the answer of a spiritual healing. The heaviness and burden I felt was so great that I immediately pulled back into the cleft and closed my eyes. God immediately gave me His comfort, peace and joy the next morning which has never left me. He knew I couldn’t handle this truth and should only experience it in hindsight.

“No matter what you think you need from God, He knows what is best for you. He controls how He meets you and what He chooses to reveal about Himself.” Priscilla Shirer, He Speaks To Me, p. 37.