Spring Break and a Little Exodus

I don't know about you, but my Spring Break passed entirely too quickly and left behind an urgency to wrap up this semester. But we can look at it two ways; the glass is half empty or half full! This semester I have really felt God tugging at me, but couldn't figure out what and why exactly. It's funny to me that He revealed that answer in literature during the break, because now I can write about i for my post :) Of course, that literature is the Bible and the story is found in the book of Exodus.

The church I have been going to has been doing a series on Moses and his walk through the desert. While it has been a great series, this week's message just really smacked me in the face as if to say, "This is what I have been trying to tell you!" The message was all about how much alone time we spend with God. The focus was on chapter 3 in Exodus, the encounter Moses had with God through the burning bush. Up to this point, Moses had been in the desert for 40 years tending to a flock of sheep. After 40 years of nothing but desert and sheep, God showed up; it just happened out of the blue. Moses wasn't expecting it. And even more importantly, he left his flock to go to the burning bush. Shepherds don't leave their flock; sheep are vulnerable and easy prey for predators. But because Moses left the flock and was alone with God, He showed up. How often do we leave out every day obligations to give our time/thoughts/meditations/energy to God? And when it does finally happen, how much time is given to Him? 5 minutes? 10? Yes it's true, we are pathetic. Our minds are so wrapped in this present day that we have lost our fear and reverence of an Almighty God. We are addicted to a chaotic lifestyle and expect God to move when we pray these microwave popcorn prayers.

In verse 6 it says that Moses hid his face from the Lord. He understood the divinity of God and gave Him the reverence that is due to Him. When did we lose this mindset? Was it when we started referring to God as the "man upstairs?" Once I saw this, I was disgusted with my feeble mind. I can't wait to see God in all of His glory and fully understand what it means to be in His presence.

This message just really put things back into perspective and helped me to see where my priorities lie. The things we give the most time to are the things we care about the most. I am really evaluating what that means in my life. I encourage anyone reading this to do the same. What are you addicted to that you can't kick? What's holding you back from giving in to God and making youself vulnerable to Him? These aren't always easy questions to ask ourselves. But if I can convince you to do one thing, it would be to...

get alone with God, before you have to get alone with God.