Excerpt from Exodus 33:7-11
"After Moses had gone in the Tent of the Lord's presence, the Lord would speak to Moses face-to-face, just as someone speaks to a friend." (Good News Bible)
Reflection by William C. Green
It's hard to imagine what it would be like to be spoken to by God face-to-face. What would God look like?
But this is to mistake speaking for seeing. Moses did not see God; rather God spoke to him. This was a personal experience, but it wasn't meant to be private. The purpose was to enable the people themselves, through Moses, to listen to the God who still speaks to all. Then as now the question is not whether and to whom God is speaking, but whether we’re listening.
Sometimes something of God hits us with overwhelming feeling. We decide to begin, or end, a marriage or partnership. We find another job. We start speaking out instead of hiding how we really feel. We finally accept the risk of serious surgery because the alternative is worse.
Other times God's word strikes us with the force of a hint. This is simply a hunch, an inclination to go one way rather than another. At those times it's helpful to remember that God can't guide us until we get going—just as Abraham and Sara headed out to the promised land, "going out not knowing" and were corrected along the way.
God reaches us in many ways. Whether or not any of these can be called "face-to-face," any of them can help us move ahead backed up by grace beyond measure. And when we get it wrong, we'll be redirected.
Prayer
Gracious God, may I hear the word you are speaking—and learn to take a hint. Amen.
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