“‘Now therefore, if I have found favor in Your sight, please show me now Your ways, that I may know You in order to find favor in Your sight.’” (Exodus 33:13a)
After the Israelites were delivered from the Egyptians, God brought them through the wilderness to Mount Sinai, where He gave them His laws. While there, Moses made a request of God. He asked that he might see God’s ways, so that he might better serve Him and honor Him.
This is a fascinating request. Most of us might have asked something more like this: “God, please show me now Your ways, that I may know You in order to find out how to get blessings for myself.” (Of course, we probably wouldn’t say it quite like that; it would most likely be a bit more subtle. But that would be the underlying message.) But that’s not what Moses did. He didn’t care if he benefited from knowing God better. All he wanted was to be able to serve God in the way He wanted. Moses loved God; he viewed Him as his friend. What he wanted most was to be able to understand God and serve Him correctly.
Here’s a question to ponder: Why do you spend time with God? Do you want to learn more about Him so you can better give to Him? Or are you trying to “butter Him up” so He’ll be more likely to give you what you want? I know I’m often guilty of doing the latter. But God made us to know Him, to have a relationship with Him. Our main purpose in life is to glorify Him. But we can’t do that unless we know Him and His ways. Moses understood this, realizing that nothing is more important than knowing God. We should have the same attitude.
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