I’ll begin this post with a confession. My devotional life is out of whack right now. I’m a bit off from my normal routine.
Why? I believe the main purpose comes from my false ability to separate my research for a new talk with my quiet time with God. Let me show you how I prepare and I think you’ll get the picture.
DEVOTIONS: There is one main text – The Bible – for my devotional life. I also have other resources that may speak to the text that I’m reading at the moment. Then I have my notebook and pen ready to respond to what I’m written. The journey using ends in writing my prayer to God.
RESEARCH: When I am preparing for an event topic the Bible is my central text. I may have some other books or resources from my life that I use to help prepare. I usually purchase a new notebook and pen and then go to town writing down ideas for good topics and conversation. I often begin and end these sessions by writing in prayers both before I begin and after I finish my work for the day.
See how similar they are? I’m having a hard time separating these 2 very vital and important pieces in my life and preparation. Sometimes it’s not bad because what God is teaching me is what I need to be teaching others. But that’s not the case right now. I feel like I’m putting them both off because I need to set boundaries.
Enough about me – let’s get to Moses. Here was Moses’ devotional life, found in Exodus 33:
Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone inquiring of the LORD would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the LORD spoke with Moses. Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to his tent. The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.
I love the sentence that I highlighted above, “The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend.” I would love to visit Moses, spend some time with him for just one day to see how he did it. He needed direct contact from God on how to lead, where to go, what to say. This whole leader of the Israelites was definitely not on his own. He needed time with God to be refreshed, restored and renewed. But he also needed specific details on how to handle the situation of the day.
Luckily for Moses, he didn’t have the option like I do, just forget about the whole thing. Procrastinate! Rebel! Not on his terms of vocabulary. But, maybe what the Lord is showing me, is that HE knows what I need. Allow my mind to quiet, come to Him in humble reverence and allow Him to lead the way.
When Moses came down from Mount Sinai… he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD
And maybe when I get up to speak on behalf of the Lord, my face will shine with His glory and not my own.
I’m really looking forward to hearing what you have to say about these verses. Please play along and fill out a comment. Or, you can blog about it then leave us to your permalink in the comments. Facebook friends could use the note section and link us to your page. Also, if you have suggestions for a topic that you’d like to discuss, please let us know! Thank you!
