6-22-10 Devotional
Dear TC-HOP Family,
Moses said, “Please, show me Your glory.” He said, “I will make My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you…” (Ex. 33:18-19)
Moses had just been with the Lord for forty days and received the Ten Commandments only to return to the people, witness their sin, and hear the Lord tell him that He will not go with them, because if He did He might destroy them. It is at this time that Moses cries out to God, pleading with Him, that He would show him His glory, His beauty and character. Isn’t it at what seems like at the lowest times in our lives, when we feel the Lord has left us and is no longer near, that we cry out, as Moses did, that the Lord will give us a little taste of His glory, just to reassure us that He is still near?
It is at this time that I say as Moses did to the Lord, “If You are pleased with me, teach (show) me your ways, so that I may know you and continue to find favor with you.” I need to know You, the Lord, are still there, that You find favor with me, and will continue to lead me.
“The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth…” (Ex. 34:6) It is now that the Lord reveals His emotions to Moses, assuring Moses of His character and who He is. The first thing He tells Moses is that He is merciful. God is tender in how He relates to us in our trials, weaknesses and sin. This is the first aspect of His personality that He reveals because it is the one we need first.
The Lord delights in mercy. It is one of His favorite things to do in leading us. He enjoys the heart response of His people as we encounter His relentless mercy. “Who is like You, pardoning iniquity…because He delights in mercy. (Mic. 7:18) God’s mercy is beyond anything we can compare to it and He will give it to all who repent. “He will have mercy on him…for He will abundantly pardon. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isa. 55:7-9)
God offers a new start every day if we will only repent of our compromises and seek Him. “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I will say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.” (Lam. 3:22-24)
God wants us to have confidence before Him in love so that we run to God instead of from God when we encounter our sin and weakness. Knowing the Word and feeling some of God’s affection for us gives us confidence and boldness even in our weakness. May we say as David did, “Your gentleness (mercy) has made me great.” (Ps.18:35).
Come join us this week as we seek the Lord together at the TC-HOP.
Blessings,
Gary