If Your Presence Does Not Go With Me
Exodus 33:15-17
And he said unto him If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight, is it not in that thou goest with us? So shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth. And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken, for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.
Thought:
Moses reached the depth of a surrendered heart. He would rather remain in the wilderness with God than enter the Promised Land without Him. He understood that the true distinction of the people of God is not land, not power, not activity, but the living presence of the Lord among them. This is what separates God’s people from all others. Not our talent, not our organization, not our spiritual vocabulary, but the reality that God is with us and in us.
This truth confronts us with a question. Would I still want God if all I had was His presence? If health, success, ministry opportunities, and recognition were all stripped away, would I still say Lord, You are enough? Spiritual maturity moves us from using God to get what we want to desiring God as our greatest treasure. Today, offer this prayer to Him. If Your presence does not go with me, do not let me move forward. Ask Him to reorder your loves so that, like David, Paul, and Moses, you can say that knowing Him is your highest good.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I pray in the name of Jesus. I confess that without Your presence, nothing in my life has true meaning or power. If Your presence does not go with me, do not let me go forward in my own strength. Strip away every false security and every competing affection. Teach me to find my identity not in what I do or where I am but in the reality that You are with me and that You know me by name. Fill me afresh with Your Spirit and make my life a testimony of Your presence. I declare that You are enough for me, Lord. In the mighty name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
And he said unto him If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight, is it not in that thou goest with us? So shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth. And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken, for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.
Thought:
Moses reached the depth of a surrendered heart. He would rather remain in the wilderness with God than enter the Promised Land without Him. He understood that the true distinction of the people of God is not land, not power, not activity, but the living presence of the Lord among them. This is what separates God’s people from all others. Not our talent, not our organization, not our spiritual vocabulary, but the reality that God is with us and in us.
This truth confronts us with a question. Would I still want God if all I had was His presence? If health, success, ministry opportunities, and recognition were all stripped away, would I still say Lord, You are enough? Spiritual maturity moves us from using God to get what we want to desiring God as our greatest treasure. Today, offer this prayer to Him. If Your presence does not go with me, do not let me move forward. Ask Him to reorder your loves so that, like David, Paul, and Moses, you can say that knowing Him is your highest good.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I pray in the name of Jesus. I confess that without Your presence, nothing in my life has true meaning or power. If Your presence does not go with me, do not let me go forward in my own strength. Strip away every false security and every competing affection. Teach me to find my identity not in what I do or where I am but in the reality that You are with me and that You know me by name. Fill me afresh with Your Spirit and make my life a testimony of Your presence. I declare that You are enough for me, Lord. In the mighty name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
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