“The Lord would speak
to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.” Exodus 33:12
A big, burgundy recliner crowds the northeast corner of my
parents’ living room. A lot goes on in
that spot—great napping, good reading, much talking, and, most importantly,
regular meetings with God. In over two
decades of “going back home,” rare has been the occasion when I’ve woken early
and not seen the light by that chair glowing bright as my father reads his
Bible and prays. No matter the season of year or season of life, his
conversations with God have been constant.
Only eternity will tell the full story of hearts changed and mountains
moved as a result of those meetings.
We all need a spot where we meet God a lot. “Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it
outside the camp some distance away, calling it the ‘tent of meeting.’ As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of
cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses”(Ex
33:7,9). Though God’s permanent presence was stunningly obvious in the
always-around cloudy pillar, Moses knew he needed one-on-one together time with
God where he wasn’t distracted by the many things he had to do and the million
people he had to lead—and we think we have a lot on our plates! To make this happen, Moses pitched a tent for
privacy where he could meet God personally.
There, within the comfy confines of a desert dwelling, the Almighty God
of heaven chatted with a regular guy of earth.
“The Lord would speak to Moses
face to face, as one speaks to a friend”(Ex 33:12). Their conversations were intimate,
engaging, and absolutely imperative if Moses was going to fulfill God’s purpose
to know Him and make Him known.
We need to be putting down stakes for the same reason. Though God’s always-around presence is
obvious in His creation and His creatures, and especially because His Spirit is
alive and well in His children, we should have a spot where we meet with God on
a regular basis. A place where it’s just
the two of us, with no distractions and no disturbances. A place where we can still our bustling minds,
close our busy mouths, and open our heavy or happy hearts to hear what God has
to say. Yes, we should “pray without ceasing” throughout our
day, and we should carry on continual conversation with God as we work, play,
run errands, do lunch, take care of family, and spend time with friends, but
for God to be glorified most and best in those activities and for us to stay
focused on what really matters in the midst of the much and the mess, intimate,
engaging private dialogue with God is imperative—and that usually happens in a
tent.
Your tent might be a recliner like my dad’s. It might be a chair by your bed or a lounger
on the back porch. You might curl up on
the couch with God or sit at a table with the Word and a warm cup of
coffee. Wherever, however, whenever, you
know what I’m talking about, and you know that no matter what comes during the
day, you are able to enjoy God (and others) greater, show love a little easier,
handle hard stuff a lot better, and keep your patience and peace much longer
when have taken time to meet with God—just the two of you—and let Him encourage
you, inspire you, instruct you, and love on you. If you find this hard to do, start short and
let God grow your time from there. You’ll soon discover that that moments
become your most important.
Side-by-side days with God are better when they begin
face-to-face.
Pitch a tent and meet with God a lot.
No comments:
Post a Comment