Do We Desire to be Guided by His Presence?
“And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.” (Exodus 33:15)
Moses met with the Lord to speak on behalf of the Israelite people. He sought one thing, in particular, that day: the presence of God.
His plea was for a communal blessing, as opposed to strictly a fulfillment of a personal desire. Moses wanted to please the Lord, as he stated:
“Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight…” (vs. 13).
He asked the Lord to examine the knowledge of the true identity of the people. They were the Lord’s (vs.13).
God responded with reassurance, saying He would go with them, and give them rest (vs.14). How beautiful is it that the Lord promised rest to His beloved children? He was the author of rest, setting an example before us in His creation of the earth (Gen. 2:2).
But Moses further appealed to the Lord with these words:
“And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?” (Exodus 33:15-16)
There are a few lessons we can take from Moses’ plea.
The cry of his heart revealed that Moses completely depended on God’s presence. For himself and the sake of the people, Moses sought the true source of love and strength. He placed little trust in their human capabilities, but instead, he placed his confidence in the God who had rescued them from Egypt and sustained them throughout the desert journey. Moses relied so strongly on the presence of the Lord that he did not want to move until he knew without a doubt that God’s presence would accompany them.
Additionally, Moses recognized that the only thing that made the people distinct from other nations who chased after foreign idols was the companionship of the Lord.
Moses did not seek for himself and the Israelites to blend in among their surroundings. He was not concerned with offending others by looking different. Instead, he was desperate to have the presence of God be a mark which they carried into the promised land.
Looking throughout Scripture, we see a similar prayer echoed by David, as he wrote in Psalm 51: “Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me” (Ps. 51:11).
Today, as believers in Christ, we are promised that the Holy Spirit will dwell within us, as the Bible states:
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:15-17)
We are called to not grieve the Holy Spirit by continuing to sin (Eph. 4:30) but rather to “walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16).
The presence of God is not something that can be fabricated by human effort. On the contrary, His presence is given as a blessing to us. Therefore, we need to ask the Lord for His authentic presence in our everyday lives and seek Him with all of our hearts.
This is how we look different than the rest of the world, by being vessels for His presence (2 Cor. 6:17). This is not so we bring condemnation onto the world, but rather to act as vessels for hope.
Have you ever tried to go in a direction without first asking for the Lord’s guidance? Or have you made decisions and then asked the Lord to bless them without first waiting in silence to see if it is His will in the first place?
May this be our prayer as well: “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here” (Exodus 33:14).
That way, we will bring the hope and love of the Holy Spirit wherever He may lead us.
In Christ,
