Monday Reading: Exodus 33:12-14
Key Verse: Exodus 33:14
14 And He said, My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.
Devotion:
I am sure that Moses was struggling to understand just who was going to show them the way to go through the desert and how they were going to survive it all, but he had faith in God to provide. Moses was being bold here with his discussion with God and wished to have a definite answer as to who would go with them. God promised Moses that they would be safe and would be provided for because they were God’s own chosen people. There is nothing wrong in confirming with God what you understand His promises to be; in fact we must be bold with our prayers and show God that we do understand His ways.
God’s answer to Moses’ request was simple and profound: “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest”. Not only was God confirming who would go with them, but He said that it would be His Presence. If you want to make sure that a job is done properly, it is oft said that you should do it yourself. God was saying that He Himself would be the one to go with them, lead them, protect them and make sure they found the Promised Land. Not only that, but that He would give them rest. This “rest” was not just rest from fatigue but everything that God had promised His people.
When God tells us that He will give us rest it is not just a simple nap in the afternoon or even a good night’s sleep. God’s rest is eternal rest, rest from enemies, rest from evil, rest from all our ailments, rest in heaven. We always try to define things in our own world and by our own measures so that we can understand the extent of things whereas God was promising eternal rest, something that we cannot hope to understand until we can understand the enormity of eternal life first. God’s promises are never half solutions or a short respite from anything; His promises are eternal and rock solid.
Points to Ponder:
How do you make sure things are done your way?
DO you depend on God?
