Go With Me, or I Don't Go

Scripture: “Show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight…if your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.” Exodus 33:13,15
You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy. Psalm 16:11

Observation: God has instructed his people to leave the desert, and go to the Promised Land. But after the debacle of the golden calf, He tells them he will send an angel to lead them but that he will not go with them, out of concern that He might destroy them.
Now, if God commanded you to leave the dry desert, after decades of manna, to enter a land of milk and honey, and he promised to drive out all the enemies before you, and he promised to send an angelic escort, that would be fantastic news, right? Yet Moses calls this command “disastrous.” For Moses, angels weren’t good enough. Instruction was not good enough. Fighting battles for them wasn’t good enough. Moses wanted God himself. In fact, if God is not going to personally go with them, then Moses would rather stay in the desert.

Application: Of all the things I want…success, impact, influence, carrying out the mission, do I want the presence of God above all else? Do I want what God can provide, or do I want God himself? Do I believe that in God’s presence there is fullness of joy? A friend handed me a book with the title, “God is the Gospel.” Is God a means to my end or is he my end?

Prayer: God, I do not want your blessings apart from your presence. Would you show me your ways, the way of life? Would you go with me? Really, the fear is that I would not go with you. Help me to spend time today pausing to experience your presence.