Author: Alice Smith
"And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend" (Exodus 33:11).
Have you ever been in a crisis when you knew the Lord was ready and waiting to give you victory but you blew it? You could have trusted and praised Him for the situation but instead you complained. Has that ever happened to you? It has to me.
When we don't handle a crisis well, often the Father engineers the crisis again to give us another opportunity to pass the test. But when we replay this life lesson again to get it right, we often are not as committed to learn the lesson as the first time. Often we will have less discernment of what God is doing in us and more humiliation from having not obeyed the first time. If we continue to grieve the Holy Spirit or resist God's tests, there will come a time when we become numb to the crisis--choosing to simply blame the devil.
The Lord sometimes has to shake areas in our lives for our own good. Afterall, the Lord is more interested in our holiness than our happiness. Now this isn't to suggest that our heavenly Father looks for ways to cause us to suffer. But He is committed to achieve His maximum glory in us. And crisis releases a brokenness we otherwise don't have. If we continue to resist the Lord, the result will be emotional turmoil and spiritual emptiness in us.
Now the good news! If we face the crisis with humility, all the while praising God for the opportunity to become more like Him, then the testimony of our lives will reflect Christ's likeness to others. Gloriously, we are promoted to new levels of victory, for in our hearts we know that we have stood strong in faith regardless of the crisis.
Can you imagine the tension Moses must have felt when he asked for God's presence to go with him as he led the children of Israel into the Promised Land? Here is Moses' prayer and God's response: "Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in Thy sight: and consider that this nation [is] Thy people. And HE said, "My presence shall go [with thee], and I will give thee rest. And he said unto HIM, If Thy presence go not [with me], carry us not up hence" (Exodus 33:13-15).
Moses' crisis was that he had to lead millions of people from slavery and through a wilderness before bringing them to a place of promise. He handled the crisis well, because he would not go forward without the presence of the Lord. You too may be afraid to move forward when facing a crisis. Questions invade your mind:
Did God really tell me to do this? What happens if I fail?
During a crisis, many times I have felt painfully disturbed, distracted and unsure. It's as if the waves and billows of God's providential timing are sweeping over me, yet I am not prepared for them. Moses didn't feel prepared to face his crisis either. Yet God told him, "And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen" (Exodus 33:22-23).
Perhaps you have an unconscious fear that if you pursue the Lord and begin to receive His friendship in a deeper way that it might cost you more than you are willing to pay. We long for more of His presence, yet we know that to whom much is given, much is required. Are you thinking that maybe the responsibility could be so great that if you disobeyed or did something stupid during the crunch time that you would be disqualified for future ministry opportunities?
"And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend" (Exodus 33:11).
Have you ever been in a crisis when you knew the Lord was ready and waiting to give you victory but you blew it? You could have trusted and praised Him for the situation but instead you complained. Has that ever happened to you? It has to me.
When we don't handle a crisis well, often the Father engineers the crisis again to give us another opportunity to pass the test. But when we replay this life lesson again to get it right, we often are not as committed to learn the lesson as the first time. Often we will have less discernment of what God is doing in us and more humiliation from having not obeyed the first time. If we continue to grieve the Holy Spirit or resist God's tests, there will come a time when we become numb to the crisis--choosing to simply blame the devil.
The Lord sometimes has to shake areas in our lives for our own good. Afterall, the Lord is more interested in our holiness than our happiness. Now this isn't to suggest that our heavenly Father looks for ways to cause us to suffer. But He is committed to achieve His maximum glory in us. And crisis releases a brokenness we otherwise don't have. If we continue to resist the Lord, the result will be emotional turmoil and spiritual emptiness in us.
Now the good news! If we face the crisis with humility, all the while praising God for the opportunity to become more like Him, then the testimony of our lives will reflect Christ's likeness to others. Gloriously, we are promoted to new levels of victory, for in our hearts we know that we have stood strong in faith regardless of the crisis.
Can you imagine the tension Moses must have felt when he asked for God's presence to go with him as he led the children of Israel into the Promised Land? Here is Moses' prayer and God's response: "Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in Thy sight: and consider that this nation [is] Thy people. And HE said, "My presence shall go [with thee], and I will give thee rest. And he said unto HIM, If Thy presence go not [with me], carry us not up hence" (Exodus 33:13-15).
Moses' crisis was that he had to lead millions of people from slavery and through a wilderness before bringing them to a place of promise. He handled the crisis well, because he would not go forward without the presence of the Lord. You too may be afraid to move forward when facing a crisis. Questions invade your mind:
Did God really tell me to do this? What happens if I fail?
During a crisis, many times I have felt painfully disturbed, distracted and unsure. It's as if the waves and billows of God's providential timing are sweeping over me, yet I am not prepared for them. Moses didn't feel prepared to face his crisis either. Yet God told him, "And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen" (Exodus 33:22-23).
Perhaps you have an unconscious fear that if you pursue the Lord and begin to receive His friendship in a deeper way that it might cost you more than you are willing to pay. We long for more of His presence, yet we know that to whom much is given, much is required. Are you thinking that maybe the responsibility could be so great that if you disobeyed or did something stupid during the crunch time that you would be disqualified for future ministry opportunities?
To learn God's ways can be costly; yet to live without knowing His ways will always cost you more! Exodus 33:11 records that God called Moses His friend. Imagine the joy of hearing the Father call you His friend too! Don't you want to hear that? I sure do.
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