Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. . . . And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. Exodus 33:12a, 14, 15, NKJV.
Dear God, as we enter the great unknown, our prayer is, please go before us, for “You are the Way, the Truth and the Life”. Thank you for hearing and answering our prayer, in the life-giving name of Jesus the Christ, Amen.
As I wish you all a happy new year 2016, I want to share with you the blessed promise that God made to Moses, and that we can also claim for ourselves: “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” There is one caveat however, you must desire His leading in your life.
God is more than willing to be in our lives, but He will not force His presence on us. Remember His words to the members of the church in Laodicea in Revelation 3:20?
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” He already knew what their need was and had already offered to supply it, (15-18), but they had to “open the door” of acceptance.
Even before we entered the year 2016 God knew what our needs would be. Like the wonderful Savior that He is, He desires nothing as much as to see us fulfilled and happy! Therefore, He willing stands at our heart’s door knocking and hoping that we will open and give Him the opportunity to at least show us what He has to offer!
What is most interesting about this situation is that God sees us so differently from the way we see ourselves! We believe we have it all together when in reality we are lacking in just about every area of our lives! Could it be that we have become so disillusioned with our real lives that we have created a Utopia just to be able to bear life?
Well, here at the very beginning of the new year God is offering us real life. We do not have to live a make believe life to find true and lasting joys. Christ offers true riches – not the kind that “take wings and fly away”, adequate clothing for the storms of life, a clear vision of what lies ahead, that we can make the best of our opportunities. No need to be wretched and miserable because of broken relationships, for He has promised never to leave, or forsake us!
Take this promise with you into 2016 and “find rest.”
“You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11).