I ran just ran (literally) up the stairs
to type this. The girls are out walking
their new puppy, and I am trying to take advantage of the few minutes of peace
and quiet that buys me. A thought has been
on my heart the last few weeks, and I am determined to get it in writing before
it’s lost forever…banished to the land of busy young mothers’ thoughts, where
school lunch orders roam and intentions of healthier cooking and exercise beg
in the streets. That sounds more like an inner city than a land. Yeah…an inner city of gangster grocery lists
and mafia closet organizers. “Yo, Vinnie,
we’re out of cereal.”
“Me? You talkin’ to me?” Anyway…
I recently read a quote by Oswald Chambers
that has been in my thoughts every day since.
“We show how little love we have for God by preferring to listen to His
servants rather than to Him.”
Read it again, and let it sink in.
Before we go further, let me say -
People in ministry, as we are, will agree when I say that we live with the
constant realization that everything we say or write is examined meticulously
and poked and prodded for any hint of accusation or judgment. That isn’t whining. It is the fact of the matter…and rightly
so. We are as apt to misuse our
influence as any other fallible human being.
With that being said, please know that anything in this blog is intended
for my own personal accountability to Christ and to encourage others to grow
closer in devotion to Him. This is not a
soapbox. It is just how the Lord has dealt
with me, personally.
In Exodus 20:19, the Israelites said to
Moses, “Speak thou with us, and we will hear:
but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” I have read this passage many times through
the years, but only in these last few weeks has the sadness of it stood out to
me. Here, their God is speaking…and they’re
too afraid to hear. Here is the One who proved
their worth by sending plagues and pestilence on the land that held
them captive, the God who spared their children on the night of the Passover,
the God who gave them a leader like Moses, the God who miraculously parted the
Red Sea for their deliverance, then destroyed their enemies before their eyes,
the God who led them and sent them manna, quail, and water in the
wilderness. Here He is giving His laws…laws
that guarantee a life of even more blessing, but they’re still uncomfortable,
still reluctant, still unacquainted.
They would still rather hear Moses.
God
saved me when I was eleven years old. I
have said so many times that God not only saved my soul, but because when He
saved me while I was young, He saved my whole life. Yet, even after all of the good He has
wrought in my life in the twenty-five years since, there are times I find
myself settling for comfort or advice...or even correction from a “Moses”
in my life. There is nothing wrong with testimonies (I love them), but if you
crave that over preaching, you’re settling for a Moses. There is nothing wrong with worship music (I
love it), but if that’s the only sound bites of Scripture in your life between
church services, you’re settling for a Moses.
If you run to a friend (no matter how godly they are) instead of to God
in prayer, you’re settling for a Moses. I
am a worship leader, but if you can only worship when someone else “leads” you
into worship, you’re settling for a Moses.
If you’re sitting back wondering what my
beef is with Moses or
if I am encouraging you to disregard the preaching or teaching of those God has
placed in spiritual authority in your life, you have grossly misunderstood me.
I will even go so far as to urge you to BE a Moses. Verse 21 says that “Moses drew near unto the
thick darkness where God was.” Moses was
an organizer and a leader. There is much
to admire in Moses. The point is that
instead of following his example, they followed him, and drew near to him, and listened
to him…rather than being close enough to hear from God for themselves. Verse 21 also says that, after all that God
had brought them through and blessed them with, “the people stood afar off.” That statement convicts me at the deepest
part of my heart. I certainly hope that
after all God has done for me, I don’t wake up one day to realize that I have kept
Him at arm’s length, and ignored Him by turning to a person for guidance, over
the One who loved me and gave Himself for me.
It is time to draw nigh to God for
yourself. Be thankful for the “Moseses”
God has placed in your life, but let us determine together to stay so
personally acquainted with God through His Word that in every situation,
nothing else will give direction and peace. Let's love Him enough for all He is and for all He has done, to have ears to hear Him for ourselves.
"...Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart upon all that I shall shew thee..." Ezekiel 40:4
