My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. Exodus 33:14
When you have fellowship with God, it’s easy to ask or make your requests known to Him. Moses had that kind of fellowship and quite a bit of wisdom as you can read not only in this passage, but throughout the book of Exodus. Moses had conversations with God, an open line of communication if you will. Here, Moses is reminding the Lord that He told him to lead His people and He didn’t say who He would send with him as he went. Moses also reminds Him that thou hast said, “I know thee by name, and thou hast found grace in my sight.” So, if you are pleased with me, teach me your ways, so that I might know you; continue to give me grace and remember these, your people, the ones you gave me to lead (I can hear the voices of the Pastors today crying this out loud). And so God said “My presence will go with you and I will give you rest."
Now rest, in this passage does not have the same meaning as we think of in terms of relaxing, take a break, put your feet up, take it easy, but rather it’s used here in reference to peace; denoting that as you go and take possession of the promise land or prepare to inhabit the land along the way, I will be with you and give you the peace and the comfort you desire. Verse 15 lets us know that Moses did not want to go forward without the Lord’s presence and God would show Himself faithful to Moses. Not only was He going to give them His presence for the journey, He would show them that He was in the journey, with them during and throughout the journey, as well as after the journey.
There will be plenty of times while on this journey for us to absorb His presence, immerse ourselves and just saturate our very being in Him or to use a popular phrase, “to just marinate in Him.” We should be the same in our thinking as Moses; that we don’t want to go anywhere or do anything without the Lord’s presence. Especially, in our specific work that the Lord has called us to do. If we would think to ask God before we go through with the making of our own decisions, our own plans, we would have better success in our journey and the rest or the peace of the journey would be better, even in the possession of the promises and the refreshing that comes along with them (Phil 4:6-9).
I want to be able to be in the place where only He and I dwell and fellowship together. It’s a place of peace, a place for refreshing, a place where I can be free from anxieties or worries because I know that He is with me and He is leading and guiding my footsteps. Protecting me from the dangers unseen, keeping me from harms way. A place where I can lay my head and know that He watches over me because He cares for my well-being. A place where I can stay and abide; a place of refuge where all is still and I can just lie in His presence. There is a feeling of safety when you know that you are in the arms of Jesus. David said, there is fullness of joy we find when we are in His presence.
I love remembering a song from my youth, where during those times, I really didn't have the full meaning of what we were singing about or what it actually meant however, I bless the Lord that I know now. The song simply said, “Take the Lord along with you, everywhere you go!” It's personal for me today and I am like Moses, Lord, if your presence is not with me, if your grace is not with me, if your mercy is not with me then I don't want to go forward. I have to be able to rest in His presence as I travel along this way.
Until the morning, be blessed,
Cynde
When you have fellowship with God, it’s easy to ask or make your requests known to Him. Moses had that kind of fellowship and quite a bit of wisdom as you can read not only in this passage, but throughout the book of Exodus. Moses had conversations with God, an open line of communication if you will. Here, Moses is reminding the Lord that He told him to lead His people and He didn’t say who He would send with him as he went. Moses also reminds Him that thou hast said, “I know thee by name, and thou hast found grace in my sight.” So, if you are pleased with me, teach me your ways, so that I might know you; continue to give me grace and remember these, your people, the ones you gave me to lead (I can hear the voices of the Pastors today crying this out loud). And so God said “My presence will go with you and I will give you rest."
Now rest, in this passage does not have the same meaning as we think of in terms of relaxing, take a break, put your feet up, take it easy, but rather it’s used here in reference to peace; denoting that as you go and take possession of the promise land or prepare to inhabit the land along the way, I will be with you and give you the peace and the comfort you desire. Verse 15 lets us know that Moses did not want to go forward without the Lord’s presence and God would show Himself faithful to Moses. Not only was He going to give them His presence for the journey, He would show them that He was in the journey, with them during and throughout the journey, as well as after the journey.
There will be plenty of times while on this journey for us to absorb His presence, immerse ourselves and just saturate our very being in Him or to use a popular phrase, “to just marinate in Him.” We should be the same in our thinking as Moses; that we don’t want to go anywhere or do anything without the Lord’s presence. Especially, in our specific work that the Lord has called us to do. If we would think to ask God before we go through with the making of our own decisions, our own plans, we would have better success in our journey and the rest or the peace of the journey would be better, even in the possession of the promises and the refreshing that comes along with them (Phil 4:6-9).
I want to be able to be in the place where only He and I dwell and fellowship together. It’s a place of peace, a place for refreshing, a place where I can be free from anxieties or worries because I know that He is with me and He is leading and guiding my footsteps. Protecting me from the dangers unseen, keeping me from harms way. A place where I can lay my head and know that He watches over me because He cares for my well-being. A place where I can stay and abide; a place of refuge where all is still and I can just lie in His presence. There is a feeling of safety when you know that you are in the arms of Jesus. David said, there is fullness of joy we find when we are in His presence.
I love remembering a song from my youth, where during those times, I really didn't have the full meaning of what we were singing about or what it actually meant however, I bless the Lord that I know now. The song simply said, “Take the Lord along with you, everywhere you go!” It's personal for me today and I am like Moses, Lord, if your presence is not with me, if your grace is not with me, if your mercy is not with me then I don't want to go forward. I have to be able to rest in His presence as I travel along this way.
Until the morning, be blessed,
Cynde
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