Experiencing God’s presence ∙

Experiencing God’s presence ∙

My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. – Exodus 33:14

Exodus 3:7-12

 7 Then the LORD told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering.”

 8 “So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey . . ..”

 9 “Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them.”

 10 “Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”

 11 But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”

 12 God answered, “I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.”

“Life is so ironic. It takes sadness to know happiness, noise to appreciate silence, and absence to value presence” (Lessons Learned In Life).

Faith flourishes and strengthens amidst challenging circumstances. The Father’s presence in our lives lays the groundwork for our confidence and belief. He offers us security, a promising future, and hope.

When the Father assigned Moses a formidable and overwhelming task – leading the Israelites from bondage in Egypt to the Promised Land (Exodus 3:10) – Moses was filled with doubt, uncertainty, and questions. How could this untested and socially isolated shepherd meet such a challenge? The Father had a concise and straightforward answer to all of his questions.

Exodus 3:12 I will be with you.

Each child of the King is assured of the Father’s presence.

The Lord Jesus Christ promised His disciples, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

Sometimes, irony can be humorous. The following marketing blurb seemed ironic and somewhat whimsical. It did not communicate precisely what was intended. “Annual plans, starting at just $12 + tax or Lifetime plans, available for only a limited time.”

REFLECT & PRAY

There is no need to fear what is happening or where you are going when the Father is with you.

Father, I need help understanding Your ways and timing. Encourage me to walk by faith, not by sight, and trust You completely.

INSIGHT

Moses was profoundly unsettled and troubled by the Father’s call and directives. He looked inward and was well aware of his flaws, shortcomings, limitations, and past failures. His initial reaction was to question, “Why me?” Yet, beneath this inquiry lay another unspoken and reflective question, “If God is willing to guide me now, why didn’t He intervene before? Why is it happening at this moment?”

Moses was nearly 80 years old, and the Israelites’ cries for deliverance had echoed for centuries. The timing seemed puzzling to him. Fear, after all, can often stifle faith and cause it to fade.

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In moments like these, The Father challenges us with a piercing question: “Where is your faith?” (Luke 8:25).

The author of Hebrews defines faith.

Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

Faith is essential to please God and carry out His will.

Hebrews 11:6 Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

“Faith declares our weakness while it proclaims the trustworthiness of God and His complete and willing ability to do what we cannot. A lack of faith insults God even as it puts foolish confidence in ourselves” (Stanley).

Faith involves a simple dependence on God. We understand that our own strength is limited. We must rely upon Him rather than on ourselves. Often, it isn’t easy to trust others because we do not really know them, their history, and their character. We cannot trust anyone further than we know them. The apostle Peter speaks to this issue. He wants all children of the King to develop an ever-increasing knowledge of the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 1:2-5

 2 May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.

 3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need to live a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.

 4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

 5 In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises.

2 Peter 1:2 May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.

Peter is making a subtle but profound statement regarding the growth of grace and peace in our lives. Grace and peace are the byproducts of increased knowledge.

However, this is not the standard Greek word for knowledge – gnosis,but rather the Greek word epignosis. Epignosis has a continuum of meanings. It often means experiential knowledge, true knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ’s nature (Thayer).

Here, it has the sense of “coming to know.”  More to the point, it signifies “coming to know someone for who they really are” (Peter H. Davids). Hence, grace and peace belong to every child of the King. They are our spiritual birthright. And our experience of grace and peace increases the more we come to know the Father and Jesus our Lord.

The truth and accuracy of Scripture are the facts of faith. We stand upon them.

The Father delights in increasing the faith of the children of the King. Instead of desiring no trials before victory and no problematic circumstances to grow our patience, we should be willing to accept them from God as a means of achieving victory and developing patience. Trials, obstacles, difficulties, and sometimes defeat are what grow our faith (Mueller).

“Real faith is always increased by opposition, while false confidence is damaged and discouraged by it” (J.B. Stoney).

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© Dr. H 2024