I love the presence of the Holy Spirit. I love being able to live life with God and I’m so thankful that God has poured out His Spirit on all people (Joel 2:28). Even though He’s given me free access to His Spirit through the work of Christ, I have to choose to walk in Him. I have to choose to seek Him out. If I don’t pursue God’s presence, then the natural effects of my flesh will separate me from Him. And living life in my own zone is pointless. I relate to Moses when he told God that If he doesn’t have His Presence, then he’s not going anywhere. Here’s that text from the bible…
Exodus 33:15-23 – Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. (16) How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” (17) And the LORD said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.” (18) Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” (19) And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. (20) But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” (21) Then the LORD said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. (22) When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. (23) Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.” (emphasis added)
In season after season, I find myself coming back to this passage as I realize again that I NEED God’s presence to go on. This is my thought again lately. Life is just pointless and shallow if it’s not being lived from within His presence and being directed by His Spirit.
I love verse 16 where it says, “What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”. Unfortunately, as I look around at the cross-section that I’m able to see of the church, I wonder how much of a difference there is between us and ‘all the other people on the face of the earth’. And this verse points out that if we are not seeing a difference between God’s people and the rest of the world, then it’s because His presence is not with us. My passion is to see the people of God walking in the presence of God.
God was pleased to grant Moses’ request and show him His glory because He was pleased with Moses and knew His name. We have been adopted as God’s children (Eph 1:5-6) and He knows us. And through Christ He is pleased with us (Eph 3:12). So, we should expect that God desires to give us His Glory as well. Do we want it? Remember .. His Spirit has now been poured out on all people, but we have to choose to enjoy Him.
The song ‘Give Me Your Glory’ was inspired by this passage and these types of thoughts. I recently sang it again in a live acoustic setting and so I thought I’d share it with you.
‘Give Me Your Glory (live)’
You can download and listen to all Dan’s songs here
Here’s the studio version for comparison.
‘Give Me Your Glory (studio)’
You can download and listen to all Dan’s songs here
