Do you ever have those moments when you’re just reading along in your Bible and you are thinking… wow… this is some powerful stuff.
There is a lot of love described and displayed in the scripture as well as times where we see God’s discipline and authority and power.
This morning I was just taken back like I am every single time when I read about being in the Lord’s presence. The scripture was asking, ”who will even be able to endure it when He comes back? Who will be able to stand and face Him when He appears? … For HE will be like blazing fire that refines metal ….”
I am reading and just getting into the scripture, I am telling you, anytime I start reading about His presence appearing like a blazing fire, man it is exciting to me!! I get all giggly and happy… because, I mean, THAT is our Lord we are reading about and what HE is going to present Himself as to us. It IS exciting!!
So, I am just reading and I am into it and I am thinking… man, is this preaching to SOMEBODY… because yeah, this is some powerful stuff I am reading here, and it’s exciting to me to be reading because its describing the awesomeness of God in a way that is so relatable that I can almost feel the reverence come over my spirit. Then I keep reading and it’s all, yeah.. they are getting in someone’s ’tater patch’ as my old Southern Baptist pastor used to say. Preaching and getting on some folks, these are some strong and authoritative words being spoken here.
Then I get to the part that lands on my heart so clearly that the Lord could not have planned those words to be written thousands of years ago anymore specifically for me than if He wrote them yesterday based off my prayers for the last little while. LOL
I just laughed and said, whew… I hear ya Lord… I hear ya. Message received. Yes, sir!
That is how it goes most of the time though, right? We are thinking, yeah.. Lord.. preach.. preach.. “so and so” needs that Lord…. preach on. Then you get to the part just for you and you wonder if He chuckles and says… alright my darling daughter…. did you get that preaching part was just for you? Did you take it in?? LOL.
Maybe we will know when we get to Heaven, but I sure like to think that is kind of how it plays out. I don’t think He would mind that I like to think He delights in teaching me. I don’t think He minds that at all. If anything, I think that makes Him delight in us even more so. I think He so wants to be part of our intimate lives. The dailyness of it all. In the inner circle of who we are.
I was listening to a message this week and as part of that message the person shared a scripture that I don’t recall standing out to me before like it did during the message I heard this time. It was about Moses. If you know me personally and I’ve ever been in a Bible Study with you, you probably know that Moses and God, they are a relationship dynamic that just intrigues me.
I‘ve been a Christian for 36 years now. Since I was 12. And I’ve read a lot of the scripture and I’ve done a LOT of Bible Studies but it was within the last 7-8 years or so that I first realized, here was Moses, God’s great leader, getting the rules for life from Him, doing his best while making mistakes and being scared, not trusting God the way he should have but God was still using him. You know, he was willing to do what God said but then followed that up with, basically, I’ll do what you say Lord, but you know I can’t speak to all these people, I need some help. Instead of trusting God to equip him, he asked for a helper. So God gave him Aaron. So, no, Moses didn’t do everything right but he was right there with God, you know. And, I tell you, when I understood the concept that God intentionally did not let Moses go into the Promised Land (but did allow him to see it) and then to learn that God Himself buried Moses… my heart, I literally had tears. And it still resonates with me almost like the first time I learned it.
Why… because it is a relationship story of how much God loved Moses. How much God trusted Moses. How much faith God had in Moses. How much potential God saw in Moses. And yet, He had no choice but to also show His authority when it was required and needed. But, God still showed such care and love for Moses that it just wouldn‘t do for anyone else in the entire existence of ever to lay His precious friend in his resting place. Nothing was good enough, no one else was good enough for the job besides God Himself.
My goodness, it makes me cry ugly tears even now just sharing with you. It is just a perfect display of how much God loved Moses completely. No matter what he did nor didn’t do right. Complete undconditional love. And man, is that not what we all want. That’s all we want. All of us, to just be loved for us. No matter what our imperfections are.
So, when I discovered this other scripture this week, oh my goodness, my heart… It’s Exodus 33:11. “Inside the Tent of Meeting, the LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend”. It is just another piece to the relationship connection between God and Moses. He did speak to him, face to face as one speaks to a friend. Wow!! Right?? I don’t know what things will be like when we get to Heaven but after I have praised God a bunch and talked to Jesus and am finished catching up with Mark and my momma, I am going to go find Moses because man, I can’t wait to hear about what it was like to have a real life friendship in the flesh with our Father.
I am smiling through tears thinking about it. That my friends… A real relationship with our Father. That is worth putting on our super hero capes for to protect our peace at all costs!! He is worth putting on our capes for, every single time!
This post may have gone down a few rabbit trails… LOL.. but, I think I am gonna leave it just like that for now, anyway. Just wanting to do the best I can do to share what’s on my heart at the time and today, friendship is on my heart. Friendship is so precious. So precious.
I am so very thankful for your powerful and authoritative presence, Lord. It helps me to know and understand your strength and my security in You.
I am so very thankful for your desire for relationship with us. Thank you for making it intimate and personal just for each and everyone of us, as if we were all your only child.
Much Love ♥️
Michelle