The Difference

"Now it was so,

when Moses came down from Mount Sinai

(and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses' hand

when he came down from the mountain),

that Moses did not know that the skin of his face

shone while he talked with Him. . .

And when Moses had finished speaking with them,

he put a veil on his face.

But whenever Moses went in before the LORD 

to speak with Him,

he would take the veil off until he came out;

and he would come out and speak to the children of Israel

whatever he had been commanded.

And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses,

that the skin of Moses' face shone,

then Moses would put the veil on his face again,

until he went in to speak with Him."

Exodus 34:29, 33-35a  NKJV

All eyes were upon him as Moses descended the mountain.  This time, the people of Israel had stayed strong in their faith while they waited for his return.  Instead of turning to other gods, the people waited patiently.  When they saw their leader, however, there was something different about him.

"Is that Moses?  I recognize his clothing but I can't see his face."

"Ya, it looks like a lamp."

"The light is so bright!  What happened to Moses?  Is he still human?  I can't look!"

"Me either. . .I'm not sure if I even want to get any closer."

It must have been scary to see their leader transformed in such a powerful way.  After forty days up on the mountain with God, the face of Moses shone like the sun.  Spending time with the Lord changes us, too.  Even though the difference may not be noticed in such a radically obvious way as this, there is a transformation that takes place.

Peace

My family and I found notes for weeks after she left.  Brittany, our middle triplet daughter, enjoys leaving little messages throughout the house when she is gone on a trip.  When I entered the garage one morning, for instance, I found a slip of blue paper that said, "Have a good workout!"  In the refrigerator, there was another note that said, "Have a great breakfast.  I hope you're not late for church."  It took a few days for me to discover a tiny message tucked between my sheets that bid me a good night's sleep.

These notes left by Brittany help me and my family to remember her when she's not in our presence.  In a similar way, Jesus promised to leave His followers with the gift of peace.  This serenity can exist when we stay connected to Him, despite the strife of the world around us.  The spirit of calm that rules in my heart reminds me that Jesus is my Lord and everything is going to be okay, no matter how things seem.  (John 14:27)

So, when the test results come back positive and I am facing the trial of my life, the peace that floods my heart tells me I am tenderly cared for.  Or, when there seems to be no way to dig out of the mountain of debt that weighs me down, the quietness of my heart reminds me that I have a Father who knows and meets my needs.  (Matthew 6:32-33)  Or, when the loss of my loved one seems unbearable, the underlying serenity found beneath the pain gives me the message that I will get through this time of grieving.

When I spend time with the Lord and surrender all to Him, I will come away with peace that guards my heart and mind in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

Joy

It's not an emotion, but rather a fruit of the Holy Spirit.  Satan takes pleasure in stealing it from those who follow Christ.  Sin can block this gift of God, making me feel hopeless and full of sorrow.  Joy.  It is not the same as happiness which is based on my circumstances.  Instead, joy is a state of hopefulness and delight that comes from the Lord.  Many times I ironically find its presence in the midst of suffering, proving it's supernatural source.

There is so much to take this joy away, however.  I face troubles of every kind, battle against the sin that is always present in my wretched flesh, and am threatened to be overtaken by worry.  If I want to let this evidence of God's presence in my life burst forth, it is important that I not only spend time with Him, but choose Him above everything that demands my time and attention.

Instead of letting troubles demand my attention, I can choose the joy that simmers in the background.  While it is easy to fall for the temptation to despair, I can decide to focus on the goodness of the Lord and rejoice in His love for me.  As natural as it is for me to ponder all that remains unsolved in my life, I can instead prefer to believe the God of all resources is a God in whom I can be glad.

When I spend time with the Lord and stay connected to Him, I will rejoice in all that He is no matter my circumstances.

Hope

She had given up on the boy.  It seemed he would never learn, always choosing to follow the troublemakers.  In the past, though, this mother always believed her son would one day grow out of this phase of difficulty and enter into the great plan God had for his life.  When he was permanently expelled from school that fateful day of his 18th year, however, she felt all hope slip away.

It is easy to give up when things seem so impossible.  As one who follows Christ, however, and has been brought close to God through His sacrificial blood, I have a positive expectation of what is to come.  I know I am cared for, comforted, and promised a place personally prepared for me in the presence of the One who loves me perfectly.  For these reasons, I can carry on in the face of great difficulty.

How quickly that hope can slip away, however.  Hard times come and I forget everything I know to be true, thinking I am like those who don't have a Father who cares for me intimately.  During these times it is vital that I remind myself of who I am in Christ, making my future secure. (Ephesians 2:11-13)  

Nothing that happens in the here and now can remove me from what is promised to me.  I am assured not only of an eternity of blissful worship of the One who makes me complete, but the present with Him as well as He floods my life with His ever-present love.  (Romans 8:38-39)

When I spend time with the Lord, I am reminded of the hope I have in Him.

In the same way that Moses was changed when He spent one-on-one time with the Lord, so I am transformed as well.  While the differences may not be evident to me, others will probably see a peace that doesn't make sense considering the difficulties I face, or a sense of joy that simmers below the surface, or a spirit of hope that drives me forward in faith.  These are some of the ways I reflect Christ to a world that so desperately needs His Light.

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can trust God enough to invest time with Him each day.

How do I inadvertently miss out on all the good things that come from God because I am too busy with other things?

How can I radically change my daily schedule to intentionally make time for the God who is jealous for my time? 

God Revealed

"Then the LORD came down in the cloud

and stood there with him and proclaimed his name,

the LORD.

And he passed in front of Moses,

proclaiming,

'The LORD, the LORD,

the compassionate and gracious God,

slow to anger,

abounding in love and faithfulness,

maintaining love to thousands,

and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.'"

Exodus 34:5-7a

She struggled with accepting God's love for her.  Whenever she heard that God was her Father, she thought of her own earthly father at whose hands she had suffered greatly.  The word "father" was tainted in her mind, closely associated with the man who had abused her in many unspeakable ways.  My friend had made God into the image of man.

It is easy to do this, not understanding God's true character.  Therefore, it may be difficult to worship Him, love Him or trust Him.  Other times I may give Him characteristics which are more pleasing to me and my agenda, making Him into something He's not.  

When God passed in front of Moses before He made the covenant with this leader of the Israelites, spending forty days writing the Ten Commandments upon the second set of stone tables, He revealed His true character.  Here is who God says He is and upon which I can base my faith.

Compassionate and Gracious

I deserve nothing more than death because of my sin. (Romans 6:23) This sin makes me God's enemy because the way I think, act, speak and conduct affairs is contrary to the way God created me to live. (Colossians 1:21)  Instead of giving me what I have earned, however, He shows compassion, caring deeply about me and giving me good things I don't deserve. (Psalm 130:3-4)

God best showed this spirit of grace and kindness for me when He sent His Son to take my place in death.  Instead of expecting me to carry out my own sentence earned by my rebellious nature, He gave His own precious Son to die in my stead, making life possible for me.  (Romans 5:8, 1 John 2:2)

Therefore, since the Lord is a God of compassion and grace, I can trust Him with my heart.  I need not be on guard before Him, saying only the things I think I should say.  Since He is concerned for my well-being and eager to give me good things, I can be myself before Him, letting Him explore the depths of my heart where darkness lies, knowing that He will be gentle and gracious to me.  He has a way of showing me what needs to be rooted out without condemning me for it, and He makes it easy for me to obey Him.

The Lord is a compassionate and gracious God.

Slow to Anger

School shootings, terrorism, corruption, government deadlock, national debt, disregard for life, contempt for God's law, scorn for traditional values; the list could go on and on.  I live in a world that is pushing the envelope, taunting God in ways that are appalling, yet God is not like me. His anger is slow to come.  Even though I see reasons all around me for Him to unleash His wrath and I see no reason for Him to wait, His ways are higher than mine. (Isaiah 55:8)

I learn in 2 Peter 3:8-9 that time means nothing to God.  He does not follow my timetable which is driven by my impatience to see action and results.  Instead, He is patient, desiring that each of His own image-bearers would come around to Him, turning from their sinful ways.  He does what it takes to draw people to Himself, giving each of us time to see the error of our ways. 

In fact, if God were not so slow to anger, I'd have no chance at life.  When I look around me and want God to send judgment upon this wicked world, I am forgetting my own sinful state.  If it weren't for His kindness, willingness to tolerate my stubborn willfulness and to wait as long as it takes, I'd be doomed as much as the wicked people in Noah's time.   While I like to think I'm better than they, God knows the truth:  I am a sinner to the core, selfish and hard-hearted.  

Since God gives me time to repent and receive the free gift of salvation He offers through Jesus Christ, so I must realize His character demands He do the same for others.  

The Lord is slow to anger, giving all of mankind time to come to repentance.

Abounding in Love and Faithfulness

Apart from God, I will never understand love.  The world defines love as something shallow, physical and based on lust.  God's love, however is deeper and more powerful.  His love is lavish and can never be lost. In fact, the only way I can love anyone at all is because He first loved me.  His love has the power to break down barriers, mend broken hearts, bind up wounds and make friends out of enemies. Love is so closely interwoven into God's character that He is considered to be the manifestation of love, and when I truly experience and comprehend His perfect love, all fear is gone.  (1 John 3:1, Romans 8:38-39,1 John 4:16-19)

If I am to live the life God created me to live, free from guilt, fear and doubt, I must realize how much I can count on Him.  I can make a list a mile long of the people who have let me down, hurt me and abandon me at my greatest hour of need.  It is easy, then, to assume God is the same way.  I may be tentative in my willingness to trust Him, generating a back-up plan "just in case."

God, however, is faithful to supply all my needs, giving me exactly what I require at just the right time.  In fact, He is the only one who knows the plan for my life and realizes the difference between my necessities and my desires. (Jeremiah 29:11, Matthew 6:32)  Therefore, I can trust Him with every part of my life. 

Instead of trying to orchestrate the details of my life, then, I can let God choose for me, giving Him full authority to guide me and use me as He sees fit.  He will never let me down and I will find that it is His love that propels me forward, giving me confidence to approach Him to receive all I need.    

The Lord is a God who is abounding in love and faithfulness.

Maintaining Love and Forgiving Wickedness

I live in a hard, cruel world that does not easily forgive.  People tend to remember my past, judging me based on what I've done before, not believing that God has begun a work within me and will continue transforming me until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6) Instead of giving me a chance, though, I am labeled as worthless and without hope.

It is easy to take on this same attitude as I come into contact with the callousness I find all around me.  When I lift my eyes to my Father, however, I see I different picture.  I find a landscape of love that never diminishes with time but continues to flow into my life regardless of my performance.  I also see that my worst sins are forgiven and I am given second, third and fourth chances. (1 John 1:9)

God never writes me off as hopeless.  Instead, He keeps lavishly loving me despite my unworthiness.  His mercies are new every morning, and each sunrise brings a new day of hope where He does new things He has never done before.  (Isaiah 43:18-19)  Therefore, I need not base my expectations on my past, but can always hope for the good that God has saved up for me this day.  

The Lord is a God who maintains His great love for me, freely offering forgiveness through Christ.

It is all too easy for me to base my idea of God on the humans around me.  God, however, has a character that is so much higher than anything He created.  Therefore, if I am to truly trust Him, I must realize His true nature.  He is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness and preserves His love and forgiveness throughout all of time.  The Lord, as He revealed Himself, is a God who can be trusted.  The more I know about God, then, the easier it is for me to place my life into His hands.

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can seek to know God a little more each day.

How am I afraid to trust God?

When would I rather take care of meeting my own needs instead of waiting on the Lord? 

On Who's Side Are You?

"Many are the plans in a man's heart,

but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails."

Proverbs 19:21

A good friend reminded me of this truth when I was feeling at the mercy of others' decisions.  I was afraid that I would be pushed into something that was outside of God's will.  That was when she reminded me that man can try to make things happen, but if it's not a part of God's plan, it won't come to pass.  

This got me to thinking about His will.  As I studied scripture, her reminder came to life as I read about several instances where God's plan prevailed despite human frailty, sin and trickery.

Human Frailty

Barak was called by God through the prophetess Deborah during a time when Israel had suffered under the rule of Jabin, King of Canaan whose cruel commander, Sisera, had oppressed them for twenty years.  God told him to take 10,000 men from two tribes and assured him that victory over the tyrant's 900 chariots would be Barak's.

He hesitated, however, aware of the overwhelming odds and refused to go unless Deborah went with him.  She agreed, but said that because of his lack of faith in the God who called him, the honor for the victory would go to a woman. 

God did bring about victory for the Israelites, thanks to a sudden torrential rainstorm and flooding creeks which wreaked havoc on the heavy chariots.  The Canaanites were wiped out and the credit for the final death blow to the evil Sisera went to a common housewife named Jael.

It was God's will to deliver his people from the hand of Sisera.  Even the weakness of Barak could not stop his plan.  

I can't mess up God's plan for my life.  My fear or someone else's zeal will not change the course that God has set.

I can trust God because no amount of failure or mistakes on my heart can alter His plan for my life.

Human Sin

Moses was known as a friend of God and the most humble man of his time, but even this great man of God was a sinner, just like you and me.  After spending 40 days and nights with God on the top of Mt Sinai, he came down with many instructions from God regarding worship and the building of the tabernacle along with the tablets on which God had etched the ten commandments.  

He famously hurled the stones to the ground, breaking them into pieces when he witnessed the Israelites taking part in the revelry of worship around a golden calf.   His anger was justified against the sin he observed, but in a fit of rage he broke the newly fashioned tablets.

Despite the sin, God did not abandon his people.  He had every right to wipe them off the face of the earth for their rebellion: But God had a plan for these people.  It was a plan to, ". . .do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world.  The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the LORD, will do for you." (Exodus 34:10) 

So God gave them another chance.  The LORD instructed Moses to chisel out two new tablets and carry them up the mountain where He would, ". . .write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke." (Exodus 34:1)  

Even the outright rebellion of God's people or the impetuous damage Moses did to God's work would stop the will of God.

There are areas in my life that I struggle with sin problems.  I continue to submit them to the Lord, only to have them creep back up again later.  But my sin is not an impediment to God's work in my life.  His power has overcome my sin in the form of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross.  

Sin no longer rules me.  But when I fall into sinful behavior, as my flesh is wont to do, I can rest in the knowledge that my sinfulness won't mess up God's plan. Just as with Moses and the Isrealites, God will give me a second chance and His purpose for my life will stand.

God's sovereign plan is more powerful that my sinful behavior.

Human Avoidance

Ahab was one of the evil kings of Israel who completely disregarded God's commandments.  He, " did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him."  (1 Kings 16:30)  He married the evil Jezebel and encouraged his people to worship Baal by building a temple to the false god and led God's people away from worship of the One True God by erecting Asherah poles for people to freely venerate.

One of the things Ahab did which revealed the darkness of his heart was that he sought out prophets who told him what he wanted to hear instead of what God wanted him to know.  This got him in trouble one day when numerous false prophets deceivingly advised him to attack Ramoth Gilead because the Lord would be with him.  When Micaiah, the true prophet from God was summoned, he gave Ahab a different message; a message from God.  The LORD said the people of Israel would be scattered and the king himself would die.

Ahab refused to listen and instead disguised himself as he went to battle, thinking he could avoid the inevitable.  Not surprisingly, a stray arrow found a chink in his armour and killed him, just as God had warned.

People throughout the ages have tried to ignore the warnings of God, to no avail.  As David reminds us, "Where can I go from your Spirit?  Where can I flee from your presence?. . . If I say, 'Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,' even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you." (Psalm 139:7, 11-12)

I can't trick God.  I can try to pretend like I don't hear Him, but that won't change His plan.  His will wins out every time!  It is better for me to fall into obedience of His calling instead of to fight against it.  

No one wants to fight against God.  Even the Pharisees backed down from their persecution against Peter and the other apostles when they received the following advice. "If their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.  But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God." (Acts 5:38-39)

It is better to work with God than against Him because in a battle of wits between me and God, God will triumph every time. 

When I am in despair and things seem out of control, I can remember that God is in control and His purpose will prevail despite my frailties, sin or desire to evade.  In the words of Isaiah the prophet, "For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him?  His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?" (Isaiah 14;27)  

Since nothing can stop Him, the question becomes, "On who's side am I?"

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can align myself with God in my thoughts and attitudes.

How do I fight against God by ignoring His calling on my life?

When do I give up, thinking that my sin is messing up His plan?