Exodus 33:20, 22-23
You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live...I...will cover you with my hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.
Today..during my personal quiet time, I sat on the covered part of my deck and listened to the summer storm..The thunder was rolling, LOUDLY and lightning was striking. A few times the old "never be outside or near a window when it is lightning" lesson came dancing through my mind. Foregoing the warnings though, I sat outside and immersed myself in my newest read, It's Not About Me by Max Lucado. I was reading about the scripture in Exodus where Moses goes up on the mount and asks God to see his glory, when a lightning bolt struck and the thunder that followed was immediate and LOUD! I thought to myself, wow..ok, God what do you want me to write about today? Or most importantly what do you want me to HEAR...I'm listening. It was within a second or two of my declaration, that I was reminded of a scripture that a dear friend shared with me this week. It is from Psalms. Psalms 3
O LORD, how my adversaries have increased!
Many are rising up against me.
2 Many are saying of my soul,
“There is no deliverance for him in God.”
3 But You, O LORD, are a shield about me,
My glory, and the One who lifts my head.
4 I was crying to the LORD with my voice,
And He answered me from His holy mountain.
How many times in our lives do things get us down..stress, work, family, our kids asking for juice, snack, supper, clean clothes (geez) *chuckle*. But sometimes these things keep us from talking with God (guilty). We figure if these awful things are happening to us or people keep treating us bad it's because God is trying to punish us (guilty again) or worse, he just doesn't care or have time to deal with ME. David was feeling this way...or at least the beating him up part. He said, "many are rising up against me!" But then he says something that I believe we often forget...YOU, God, are my shield..YOU, God, are my glory...and YOU, God, lift my head...Then comes my favorite part..."He answered me from his mountain!" God doesn't ignore us. He hears us...and if we just listen, he will answer.
What do we ask God for? Do we ask him to take all our troubles away? Do we ask him to make everything "perfect"? Moses could have asked God for anything...God is said to have talked to Moses like you talk to a friend. So what exactly did he ask his friend, the maker of the universe for? He didn't ask God to take away those troublesome people who were driving him NUTS, he didn't ask for the largest hut in the village, he didn't ask for riches to make everyone envy him...no. He asked for God to show him His glory. Just to see him...to catch a glimpse of the one who could have given Moses ANYTHING he desired...he desired to see him.
So, this morning..the lightning is striking, thunder is rolling and I am sitting with my book on my lap. I ask God what it is he wants me to hear..and I hear him say for me to lift my head...and ask for Him. When life is dragging me down, people are hurting my feelings and I am reminded that by the worlds standards I am not valued...I need to LOOK up..HE is my shield...he will protect me and ask Him to show me HIS glory..forget about my own troubles. Forget about my own hurts, leave my broken heart aside and ask Him to just simply show me HIMSELF. If I do this, I have decided that HE is more important than ME...He loves me. He wants to be with us. He wants to protect us, remember, he is our shield..all we need to do...is ask.
O LORD, how my adversaries have increased!
Many are rising up against me.
2 Many are saying of my soul,
“There is no deliverance for him in God.”
3 But You, O LORD, are a shield about me,
My glory, and the One who lifts my head.
4 I was crying to the LORD with my voice,
And He answered me from His holy mountain.
How many times in our lives do things get us down..stress, work, family, our kids asking for juice, snack, supper, clean clothes (geez) *chuckle*. But sometimes these things keep us from talking with God (guilty). We figure if these awful things are happening to us or people keep treating us bad it's because God is trying to punish us (guilty again) or worse, he just doesn't care or have time to deal with ME. David was feeling this way...or at least the beating him up part. He said, "many are rising up against me!" But then he says something that I believe we often forget...YOU, God, are my shield..YOU, God, are my glory...and YOU, God, lift my head...Then comes my favorite part..."He answered me from his mountain!" God doesn't ignore us. He hears us...and if we just listen, he will answer.
What do we ask God for? Do we ask him to take all our troubles away? Do we ask him to make everything "perfect"? Moses could have asked God for anything...God is said to have talked to Moses like you talk to a friend. So what exactly did he ask his friend, the maker of the universe for? He didn't ask God to take away those troublesome people who were driving him NUTS, he didn't ask for the largest hut in the village, he didn't ask for riches to make everyone envy him...no. He asked for God to show him His glory. Just to see him...to catch a glimpse of the one who could have given Moses ANYTHING he desired...he desired to see him.
So, this morning..the lightning is striking, thunder is rolling and I am sitting with my book on my lap. I ask God what it is he wants me to hear..and I hear him say for me to lift my head...and ask for Him. When life is dragging me down, people are hurting my feelings and I am reminded that by the worlds standards I am not valued...I need to LOOK up..HE is my shield...he will protect me and ask Him to show me HIS glory..forget about my own troubles. Forget about my own hurts, leave my broken heart aside and ask Him to just simply show me HIMSELF. If I do this, I have decided that HE is more important than ME...He loves me. He wants to be with us. He wants to protect us, remember, he is our shield..all we need to do...is ask.
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