FCA ResourcesDevotional
God's Glory, Part 1
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“Then Moses said, “Please, let me see your glory.” He said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim the name ‘the Lord’ before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” But he added, “You cannot see my face, for humans cannot see me and live.” The Lord said, “Here is a place near me. You are to stand on the rock, and when my glory passes by, I will put you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take my hand away, and you will see my back, but my face will not be seen.” – Exodus 33:18-23
Set
Often, we live our life seeking mountaintop moments; those moments where it all comes together and we succeed.
It could be hitting a home run, scoring the winning goal, getting your first scholarship offer, or winning a championship. It’s easy to see success in these moments. These moments are captured in photos, books and in our memories. Mountaintop moments are great and help motivate us through difficult or mundane days. We know that not every day will be lived on the mountaintop.
Over the next two days, we will look at two different ways of experiencing God’s glory. Today, we look at a conversation between Moses and God. Moses was charged with leading God’s people to the promised land. Moses needed God to complete this task, and in our verses above, Moses pleaded with God to show His glory to Moses directly.
It’s a bold request, but due to Moses’ desire to see God, God grants his wish, and Moses gets to experience a mountaintop moment with God.
Like mountaintop moments in our sport, these moments in our faith give us courage and faith to continue fighting the good fight. After Moses saw God’s glory, He could complete his task and continue leading the Israelites to the land God had promised them.
Moments like these don’t happen daily, but we will learn next that God isn’t just on top of the mountains showing us His glory but with us in the everyday valley of life.
Go
- Remember a time when you vividly experienced God’s glory; what happened afterward?
- Have you ever made a bold request like Moses did?
Overtime
“God, I pray today that we have the boldness of Moses to seek out Your glory, knowing that we cannot accomplish the tasks You have set before us without You. I pray that the mountaintop moments give us courage and faith to sustain the everyday worries of life. Amen.”
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