His Radiance!

Exodus 34:29 tells us that when Moses came down Mount Sinai carrying the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant God made with His people, Israel, “he wasn’t aware that his face had become radiant because he had spoken to the Lord.”

I love this passage of scripture for so many reasons.

For one, Moses wasn't aware that divine presence had directly impacted his physical appearance. 
And that tells us something.
It tells us that Moses’ time with God was authentic.  It wasn’t just “for show.”
How do we know this?  Because, “he wasn’t aware” of it.
His time with the Lord was a genuine desire for intimacy and seemed to contain within it, no arrogance or hypocrisy. 

For another, his acquaintance with the Lord was made evident by onlookers.  “So when Aaron and the people of Israel saw the radiance of Moses’ face” they were afraid to come near him.”  (vs 30)  The word “afraid” here means “to revere.”

The time he spent with the Father was evident for all to see.
It changed his countenance… his expression, his demeanor, his composure, and his conduct.
Everything was altered by association.

Moses knew and experienced the level of closeness that few apprehended for themselves though they had the same degree of opportunity.

Moses kept near to God.  He remained near enough to feel His touch, hear His voice, and see His face. 

And in doing so, He became the champion of confidence, the hero of faith that inspired an entire company of people who desperately desired a reminder of goodness and grace.  An entire nation who deeply needed the promise of hope and certainty.

Because of His nearness to the God of the universe, Moses was able to successfully carry a measure of His presence into the valley, where the people had lost their way.  He was able to victoriously step into a tainted atmosphere, bringing with Him the radiant glow that held within it the ability to transform destiny's.

Never forget the significant influence that presence has on the lives of others that results from your investment of time spent with the Father.  Because of you, lost people who have remained stuck in the valley will behold your radiant glow, and be forever changed by the reality of that luminance.

Keep near to Jesus.  And when you do you will carry His radiance wherever you go… and others will be drawn to the light and kept alive by it’s warmth.