The Fading Glory

Remember the story of Moses going up Mount Sinai to meet with God?  Then he came back down the mountain and his face was shining from the encounter he had.  I was always taught that Moses’ face was shining so brightly that people couldn’t stand to look at it, so he put a veil over his face.  But, as Paul points out in 2 Corinthians 3:13, Moses wore a veil so that the Israelites would not look at the fading glory on his face.  He didn’t want them to see the glory disappearing.  He wanted to hide this moment from the world.  Moses didn’t want people to know the presence was leaving.

The other night I listened to Daniel Kolenda preach about this and it completely wrecked me.  I have a passion for God’s presence and to know Him intimately, but I was reminded again of how I need to be jealous for my relationship with God.  I need to be a lover of His presence and one who seeks His face!  I cannot let myself be deterred or distracted from this pursuit, although so much that surrounds me does try to grab my attention and hold my gaze.

The gazing of my heart must be set on Him and Him alone.

Moses veiled his face because he knew had experienced something precious and he couldn’t bear for people to see that being lost.  God met with Moses and it was powerful, but the glory was only temporary.  Now that Jesus has died, and has torn the veil into the Holy of Holies; we have access into His presence and into His glory at all times!  We don’t have to go out to the tabernacle to meet with God but we can meet with Him anytime and anywhere.

We have been given such a priceless gift.  Not only salvation and eternal life, but the ability to have direct access to Father God.  There are hundreds of generations who could never have imagined such a thing to be possible.  But for us it is, thanks to Jesus!  And often times we spend so little effort seeking God when it’s such a privilege.

Today He calls us to be those who walk with unveiled faces, reflecting His glory like in a mirror.

I know for me I was so deeply moved by this message because I have had tremendous experiences with the Lord in the past.  There have been times in my life where the glory of God has so filled the room that I can’t even move or get up off of the ground.  Or when I’ve gone to a restaurant and the waiter instantly knew that there was something different about me, without even saying a word to him.  Tears came to his eyes, because the presence of God was tangible and it touched him.  Or going to deep places in prayer with the Holy Spirit.  Or waking up in the morning and wanting to do nothing else except be with Jesus.  I’ve had countless wonderful, glorious experiences – only to say that I know there is SO MUCH MORE!  I’ve only had a small taste of His presence in my life.  And I can’t let myself forget it.  I can’t let my hunger grow cold. I can’t let the longing and desire wain.  I can’t!  Because He’s so worthy and so absolutely stunning – why would I waste my time doing anything else but pursuing Him?  Why do I let myself get so caught up by the unimportant?

Moses hid the fading glory on his face.  I think maybe I understand that in part and it’s terribly heartbreaking.  To know you’ve been closer to the Father than you are right now.  To know that you’ve “tasted and seen” that the Lord is good. To know that you’ve been in the river of God.  And to know that you’ve left those deeper waters behind to go back to the shallow ones.  To know the glory is fading away.  To wake up one day and realize you used to be so closer to Him then you are now.

Right now, my heart is ablaze for the Lord.  But I know there were entire years of my life where I went back to shallower waters and stayed there – knowing full well I used to live in a more intimate place with Jesus.  I’m so thankful that Holy Spirit has reignited my heart and drawn me close again.  But still to this day, to stay focused and live a life of intentional pursuit of God isn’t always easy.  The distractions are numerous but my goal is to have a focused heart and keep going deeper with the Lord all the days of my life.

I want to be one of those, who with an unveiled face, beholds and reflects the glory of God.  To be one who carries His presence.