As His Glory Passes

Recently I was listening to our local Christian radio station and a small snippet of a lesson from Beth Moore was played for a 1 minute segment. It has stuck with me so vividly that I need to share it with you too!

In you grew up in Sunday School, let's think back to the story of Moses in the cleft of the rock. If you didn't, you'll be up to speed really soon. =)

In Exodus 33 Moses is talking with God and trying to convince God that he and the Israelites need evidence that they are a special and select group of people to Him. God is pleased with Moses, so agrees to comply with some of his requests. Then Moses threw a big one at God:

Show me Your glory. (v 18)

Wow. Brave man, this Moses was. Did he really know what he was asking for. I have asked this of God before, but He didn't, and I'm pretty sure it is because I couldn't handle it.

In fact, He says as much to Moses in His response:

You can not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. (v 20)

However...and here's the kicker...God agreed to let Moses see His back.

So God told Moses to go to a particular location and when God was ready to pass, He would place His hand over Moses in the cleft of a rock so that Moses could not see His full glory. Once God had passed, He would remove His hand and allow Moses to see His back.

Have you ever been in that kind of situation? Think about it....

Have you ever asked God to come near to you and to work in your life or to deal with a particular situation? There are so many times that we don't see what He's doing or how He's handling our requests. However, many times we do see Him after He's passed. We see the evidence that He was really with us. We see His back as He is passing by.

Why didn't we see Him while He was there? Well, my friend, that's because He had His protective hand covering us through the entire ordeal.

Hand of God photo courtesy of National Geographic.