Knowing God

Exodus 33:13 (NASB95) Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight. Consider too, that this nation is Your people.

Few people in Scripture carried the kind of responsibility Moses did. He led an entire nation out of slavery, through forty years in the wilderness, and to the border of the Promised Land. But that's not all that made his life remarkable. What made Moses different was how deeply he knew the Lord. Scripture says that God spoke with him "face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend" (Exodus 33:11). More than success, influence, or even reaching the Promised Land, Moses longed for God's presence.

That is Moses' heart in Exodus 33. After Israel's rebellion with the golden calf, God promised that the people would still inherit the Promised Land, but He told Moses that His presence would not go with them. Moses was not satisfied with that arrangement. He did not want God's promises if they came without God's presence.

It's easy to understand why Moses asked for guidance. He was responsible for leading an entire nation through uncertainty. But notice what he actually asked for:

"Let me know Your ways that I may know You."

He wasn't asking only for God's way. He was asking for God Himself.

No doubt we have all found ourselves wanting to know what God is doing. Why one door opened while another closed. Where He's leading in this next season. We pray for answers about our families, our ministries, our calling, and our future.

But throughout Scripture, God continually invites us beyond information into relationship.

Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NASB95) Let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me...

Hosea 6:3 NASB95) So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD.

God absolutely does guide His people, and as leaders, of course we should desire His wisdom and direction. But Moses recognized that if he knew the Lord, he could trust Him even when he didn't understand the path ahead. Knowing God will produce the wisdom, courage, humility, and confidence we need to lead well.

When we find ourselves asking, "Lord, what are You doing?" may our deeper prayer become, "Lord, help me know You."

Like Moses, may we seek God's ways so that we might know Him more deeply. Because in the end, knowing Him is far greater than having all the answers.

- Stay the course, my friend.