Last week we saw that sins have
consequences and the Israelites quickly learned that lesson after
they worshipped the calf of gold. They were quite aware that they
were supposed to worship God alone. Now due to this incident, God
spoke to Moses in the Tent of Meeting and told him that He couldn't
continue travelling with the Israelites as He 'would be tempted to
destroy them along the way (Exodus 33:3)'. But Moses pleaded with
the Lord to come with them.
'Then Moses said, "If You don't go
with us personally, don't let us move a step from this place. If
You don't go with us, how will anyone ever know that Your people
and I have found favor with You? How else will they know we are
special and distinct from all other people on the earth?" Exodus
33:15.
Moses knew that without God on
their side they would be lost and not only that, they would be open
prey for any nation to attack them. He knew that only with God by
their side can they enter into the Promised Land. They were not
strong enough to move forward on their own.
And due to Moses' request an
amazing thing happened:
'And the Lord replied to Moses, "I
will indeed do what you have asked, for you have found favor with
Me, and you are My friend." Exodus 33:17
Wow! The prayer of the righteous
has an amazing effect. God does listen and our prayers do
have an effect if we pray earnestly and according to God's Will.
Moses did not pray for himself and for selfish gain, no, he prayed
that God be glorified in Israel through the mighty deeds He can
still do through them. He prayed that God's glory be seen as other
nations realize that the Almighty God was with them.
We too need to pray earnest
prayers. We need to pray for God's Will to be done as we are
instructed to do in the Lord's prayer too. And we need to ask God
to be with us. Naturally He is with us as He is omnipresent, but we
need to really seek His face and ask Him to lead us on the way
He wants us to go, not where we want to go. Moses
refused to move one more step without God and we too need to
consult Him before we take a step into any other direction than the
one God has already shown us. God has a perfect will for each one
of us and we need to consult Him as to what it is. We need to keep
on that path if we want to experience His joy and peace in all its
fullness!
Moses and the Israelites could have
gone on without God, but I can't help but wonder where they would
have ended up. I am quite certain that they would never have
entered the Promised Land and experienced the wonder of the land
flowing with milk and honey.
Stand firm as Moses did and make
sure that God is with you personally on your journey. Ask His
directions and then you can be certain that you are on the right
path!
Lord, we ask Your forgiveness that
we sometimes go on, on our own paths without even consulting You.
Please give us Your leading as we know that we can go nowhere
without Your leading and Your everlasting presence. We long for
Your peace and Your joy that surpasses all understanding. Lead us
onto Your right path for us. Thank you. In Jesus' Name. Amen