Welcome to Day 14. for one of our short powerful devotions from the 31 Bible Verses About Practicing The Presence Of God. This short devotional is based on Exodus 33:14.
Read Exodus 33:14.
This is a most beautiful verse to meditate on. To understand the weighty truth behind it, let's have a short bible study to understand the context of it.
Exodus 33:14 is a promise given to Moses and the Israelites. They were about to enter the Promised Land but Moses had to step into the gap between a rebellious, stiff-necked people (the Israelites) and God.
Moses had just been on Mount Sinai and had been given the 10 Commandments which had been written on tablets of stone with the finger of God. While Moses was enjoying being in the presence of God, the rebellious Israelites had grown restless and desired to have a god to worship. So they fashioned a molten calf out of the gold rings from their ears and worshiped it.
God was angry and told Moses that the people had corrupted themselves and that God said, "My wrath may burn hot against them". Moses stepped into the gap between the Israelite people and God. Moses pleaded with God on their behalf, he interceded for them.
God listened to Moses intercession and agreed to allow these stubborn people to enter the Promised Land which was full of milk and honey......but God said that His presence would not go with them.
Can you imagine God saying He would withdraw His presence from you?
You and I should react just like Moses! Guess what he did?
Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. Everyone who sought the LORD went out to the tabernacle of meeting. This showed a changed and repentant heart of each person that sought God.
When Moses worshipped God in the tent, a pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle. This was God's presence and all the people in the camp could see it.
During this time Moses boldly sought God. He was determined to have God’s presence with Israel in the Promised Land and he was relentless in petitioning God to go with them. Moses did not want to go to the Promised Land without God's presence and God then gave him this wonderful promise of His presence in Exodus 33:14.
Keep in mind that Moses went to great lengths to seek God's presence and to intimately know Him. He also was bold in his prayers because he was safe in God's presence. For Moses to be walking in a land that was overflowing with milk and honey, was meaningless if God's presence did not go with them.
Join me below for a short devotional as we seek to know God intimately just like Moses, who saw God 'face to face'. And don't forget to join me in prayer too at the end of this post.
Short Devotional: My Presence Will Go With You.
The interesting fact about our scripture today is that God had promised that the people could enter the Promised Land. That promise did not change even though the people were rebellious. The only thing that changed was that God's presence would not go with them. God would not be going with them because of their rebellious idolatry. His holy presence would utterly consume them if He had.
This resulted in the Israelites having a repentant heart. They took off the ornaments they made from the golden calf and mourned what God had just told Moses. They also wanted God's presence with them.
Take time to consider:
Are you are content to just receive God's promises, His blessings, or do you desperately hunger for more of His presence?
Are you determined to know God intimately and seek His presence boldly as Moses did?
I just want to remind you of this verse,
Hebrews 4:16.
We are encouraged in Hebrews 4:16 to come boldly to the throne of grace so that God can give us His mercy and His grace for whatever circumstance that we are in or for one that we will be in, in the future. We can know God's presence throughout the day and in every one of our circumstances. We studied this verse before and you can read that devotional HERE.
God desires for you to yearn for His presence. He wants you to come boldly and relentlessly seeking His presence. God wants you to be as demanding as Moses was in knowing His presence in all your activities and geographical locations that you are in.
God also wants you to find rest in His presence. Rest is intimately tied to God’s presence. God provides rest for us just like He did for Moses and Israel. If you are stressed, take some time, even just a few minutes to sit in God's presence and rest in Him. I often do this by listening to some worship music and afterward, the issue that was adding so much stress melts away. The problem may still be there but having spent time in God's presence, you will remember that God is bigger than any circumstance that we face.
Use the following questions and prayer journal to go deeper with God on this verse.
Today's devotional is based on Exodus 33:14 which is from our Practicing The Presence Of God: 31 Presence Of God Scriptures Plan. You will find a free printable PDF of 31 scriptures about God's presence in the Resource Library. It has a bible reading plan, guided prayer, and gratitude journal. Download this free printable or grab a notebook.
What is God saying to you through this verse?
What burdens do you need to surrender to God and trust Him with?
Write out your prayer request.
What are you grateful for today? Count your blessings!
Write out the scripture verse, it helps you to memorize the scripture and store up God's truth in your heart. Then in the last section of the prayer journal, there is space to record what God is speaking to you through our bible verse today, Exodus 33:14.
Scripture Prayer
We are called to pray without ceasing. That means we can talk with God at any time and in any place. This is a great way to practice the presence of God. Praying scripture is a powerful way to pray so join me in praying Exodus 33:14.
Thank you Father that I can come boldly to Your throne of grace anytime. Thank you for Your presence in my life. I do not want to go anywhere without Your presence. Fill me with an increased passion to pursue Your presence relentlessly. Thank you for the example of Moses. Give me the courage to seek You 'face to face' just like Moses did and thank you for the promise of rest in Your presence. Amen.
Related Resources:
You will find Practicing The Presence Of God: 31 Presence Of God Scriptures HERE. It will have the list of 31 Bible verses that we are using for 31 days that our short powerful daily devotionals are based on.
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xx Karen.