“So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.” Exodus 20:21
Moses was a draw near kind of guy. Even when it seemed scary… Moses was the one who scurried over to see what God was going to say, what God was going to do, and what God wanted from him.
In Exodus 19:9, God clearly communicated to Moses that His voice wasn’t only exclusive to him. He wanted all to hear His voice and believe.
God doesn’t play Hide-n-Seek. He’s not darting from one end of heaven to the other, saying, “Catch Me if you can!”
Exodus 20:21 tells us, “And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.”
He wants us to encounter Him in real and, sometimes, even tangible ways.
Salvation is only the start of a daily, moment-by-moment real relationship that God has with His kids.
He wants us to experience knowing Him. Hearing His voice. Feeling His presence. Not just when we said the eternal “I do!” at salvation… but in the every-day realities of life.
There are times when His voice comes through those quiet whispers in our hearts.
But let’s be real. Sometimes, when God speaks, it can seem scary.
Whispers draw us close and cause us to listen. But there are times when He wants to make Himself obvious or to speak so loudly it’s unmistakeable… those time when His presence and His voice sometimes comes with thunders and lightning and in trumpet blaring, earth shattering ways.
That’s what happened to the children of Israel when God showed up. His presence left them trembling and they backed away instead of pressing in.
Moses and the people had two very different reactions.
Moses pressed in and the people stood far off.
“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.'” Exodus 20:21
We want God to call us into the pleasant places. But will you draw near when He calls you into the thick darkness? Even if you know He’s there… will you draw near or stand far off because it’s easier and not as scary?
Sometimes, God comes in thick darkness. Not just in the light and not just on the mountaintop. But in the darkness where it’s so thick you can feel it.
It’s there, in the thick darkness, that God shows up and makes Himself known in ways you would never have the opportunity to experience in the light.
We don’t have to be afraid of the dark seasons of our lives because He’s already there. We don’t have to fear what we can’t see because He Himself is Light.
We live in a dark world. We go through dark seasons and face dark circumstances. When things are hard and we don’t know what to do and when life leaves us with more questions than answers, God is there…even in the dark.
The question is, “What kind of believer are you when the darkness comes?”
The kind that stands afar off? Or the kind that presses in no matter how dark?
What kind of darkness is God with you in today?
How can I pray for you?