Leave Your Desert

Exodus 33:14
And He said, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Human tendency has a way of leading us deeper into that hopeless desert of depression, bitterness, and selfishness. It doesn’t take long before we’re spiritually famished and dehydrated. Exhaustion takes over. We drag our feet, seldom raising our head to see where we are. Once you have relinquished all hope of being rescued, seldom will you find reason for continuing the journey.

“Now therefore, I pray Thee, if I have found favor in Thy sight, let me know Thy ways, that I may know Thee, so that I may find favor in Thy sight” (Exodus 33:12). This is the prayer of a desperate man. It’s a plea for help. It’s the prayer of an honest heart, not scared to voice frustration towards the Almighty. Above all else, it’s a prayer of faith, offering hope where little hope can be found. It’s a prayer that you and I need to pray on a daily basis.

Moses was far deeper into the desert than you or I will ever go. He had the weight of an entire nation on his shoulders. It would have been easy for him to turn around when the whole assembly was threatening mutiny. It would have been easy to give up on God, to curse the day he was born… to even take his own life. It would have been unavoidable without the cloud by day and the fire by night. It would have been impossible apart from the ever presence of God.

But God was there. And He’s here today. His word to you is the same.
“My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.”

When was the last time you heard something like that from your Lord? When was the last time you were honest enough to ask if He was still there? I challenge you to stop complaining about your “desert” today. Stop long enough to fix your eyes on that column of fire ahead of you. He is near. He is listening. His presence is with you and longs to give you rest. You must only ask.