Show Me

Read:

Exodus 33:18-22 And [Moses] said, "Please, show me Your glory." Then He said, "I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." But He said, "You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live." And the Lord said, "Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by.

What It Is Speaking to Me

Moses is in the middle of an exhausting stretch of life. The people he's leading just built a golden calf and worshiped it while he was up on the mountain, and now he's back down here trying to hold the whole thing together. In the middle of that mess, he makes a request to God. He doesn't ask for the people to be spared, or for the situation to be fixed, or even for rest. He asks, "Please show me Your glory" (v. 18).

God doesn't show Moses a vision or a spectacle. He says, "I will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you My name, the Lord" (v. 19). Moses doesn't get to see God's face. He gets something else instead: God's character, God's name, God's goodness, moving right past him.

The heart behind "show me Your glory" was that Moses wanted more of God, not more of a show. And God's response was an experience of His character, His goodness, His name.

I think it would be amazing to have a spectacular version of God's presence, the burning bush or the parted sea. But in lieu of that, I also don't want to miss that He is already revealing Himself constantly to me through His goodness.

Moses didn't get to see God's face, but he still came away from that mountain changed. His face literally glowed afterward. That's what happens when you spend time in God's presence, even hidden in the cleft of a rock. You come away different, because you've been near Him.

What is it saying to you?

What are you really asking for when you ask God to "show up" in your life?

Are you asking for a spectacle, or are you asking to know Him?

Where have you recently caught a glimpse of God's goodness passing by, even if it wasn't dramatic?

What are we going to do about it?

Pray to see God today, in a big way or a small way, that He would show a little bit of Himself to you today.