Let’s begin with a question. What is your ultimate goal? In other words, what desire outweighs all other desires? Can you be honest? If so, you’ll avoid ending up in a place you don’t want to find yourself.
Consider Moses’s life. Moses chose to walk away from what the most affluent nation on earth could offer. Why would he forsake such a lifestyle? Couldn’t he find contentment in serving God while still living in Pharaoh’s palace? No. Moses’s internal GPS dictated that his true desire couldn’t be attained where he currently resided, for the writer of Hebrews records about him:
He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward. -Hebrews 11:26 NLT
For Moses, waiting for the Promised Land was a time filled with stress in the arid desert. In the midst of these turbulent times God spoke to Moses:
“Leave this place, you and the people you brought out of Egypt, and go to the land that I promised to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and to their descendants. I will send an angel to guide you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hives, and the Jebusites. You are going to a rich and fertile land. But I will not go with you myself…” Exodus 33:1–3 TEV
Now God has instructed their leader, Moses, to take them into this Promised Land. He declared there would be a choice, mighty angel to guide and protect them. This warrior angel would drive out any and all foes. However, there was one catch: God Himself would not go.
Listen to Moses’s reply to God’s offer:
“If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.” -Exodus 33:15
As a reminder, where was here? It was the place of lack, adversity, stress, and hardship—the desert. In essence he declared, “If I have to choose between Your presence and Your blessing, I’ll take Your presence—even if it’s in a place of lack and hardship—over Your blessing in a great environment.”
Moses declared two things in turning down God’s offer. First and foremost, that time in God’s presence was more valuable than time enjoying His blessing apart from His presence. Second, that Moses believed in God’s flawless integrity. Even though entering the Promised Land would be on hold, Moses knew God would eventually bring Israel there. He knew God would keep His Word. Had Moses’s internal GPS not been set correctly, given the circumstances, he certainly would have made a different choice.
I want you to be able to answer a wholehearted yes to the question, “Is God’s presence your ultimate goal?” But for your response to be more than an intellectual exercise—you must first be able to answer another question: do you know what it means to be in God’s presence?
My friend, I want you to fall in love with the presence of God like Moses did. I want you to possess such longing for intimacy with Him that no shortcut seems worth taking. That kind of passion only comes from experiencing the presence of God firsthand.
