Trust When You Cannot See

Maybe it’s because the days have been difficult.
And my heart has been heavy.

But God, in His infinite wisdom and in His incredible kindness allows me to see clearer on a Monday morning.
He also helps to connect the dots in scripture for me.  Gives me clarity on what my heart longs to know.

Moses had a calling on His life
To lead the people from their captivity in Egypt.
The task wasn’t meager.
And it was going to require a whole lot of faith in the One who was calling them out.

It was Moses’ practice to take the Tent of Meeting… the place where He would meet regularly with the Lord… and set it up some distance from the camp.  Whenever Moses would go into the Tent of Meeting, all the people would get up and stand in the entrances of their own tents and watch until Moses disappeared inside.  (Ex 33:7-8)
 
On one particular day Moses was talking with the Lord and he said, “You have been telling me, ‘Take these people up to the Promised Land’ but you have’t told me whom you will send with me.”  (vs 12). He went on to say, “If it’s true that you look favorably on me, let me know Your ways so I may understand you more fully and continue to enjoy Your favor.  And remember that this nation is Your very own people.”  (vs 13)

And the Lord promises His presence.

And you have to love Moses’ heart.
Because he continues, dissatisfied with anything less than ALL of the Father.

He says one last thing to him found in verse 18, “Show me Your glorious presence.”

He wanted to see the Lord.
He wanted to not only know Him by heart knowledge, he longed to behold Him with sight.

But the Lord responds with this, “I will make all of My goodness pass before you, and I will call out My name, Yahweh, before you”.”  (verse 19)  

I cry tears when I see those words.

But He’s not finished.

“Look, stand near Me on this rock.  As My glorious presence passes by, I will hide you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by.  Then I will remove My hand and let you see from behind.  But My face will not be seen.”  (verses 22-23)

I shed more tears at the words I’ve read at least a dozen times.
It’s as if I am reading them for the very first time.

“I will make all of My goodness pass before you.”
“My face will not be seen.”

I, too, like Moses long to see Him face to face.
And yet in these trying, challenging times it’s often most difficult to see His face.
To know where His hand is moving.

Moses wanted to see His glory - but God showed Him His goodness.  
It was a lesson for Moses of seeing His known goodness in the absence of felt presence.  He was learning how to have faith without vision.

And so must I.

The road ahead may look uncertain.
It may seem as though He’s left.
But the emptiness we may be feeling might only be an invitation to deeper waters of faith.

He is calling us to trust Him even when we can’t see Him.
To believe that He is working even when we can’t feel Him.
To look for His goodness.
To remember His kindness.
And to allow that to accompany us along the pathway of mystery.