August 17th

Upper Management

Then he said to Him, If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.' Exodus 33:15-16

Have you ever been told that you're different? I hear that one all the time, and sometimes it's good and sometimes it's bad.

It's like, your wife makes a new recipe and you try it and she asks, What do you think?

And you say, Um, well, it's different! Or it could be more like, Wow, there's just something different about that person; I really like them.

We're supposed to be different, so it's important for us to understand what makes us different. Here, in our verses for today, we find our answer-what makes us different is God's presence.

More than that, Moses shows us just how important it is for us to have God's presence and to be different. He tells God, If your presence doesn't go with us, don't even bring us up from here. Don't even bother. In other words, I'm not going if You're not going.

That ought to be your heart. If You're not in, I'm not in. If You're not going, I'm not going.

To put this in perspective, remember what Moses was talking about here-he was saying that he'd rather spend the rest of his life in the barren wilderness in God's presence than continue on to the Promised Land without Him.

What are the dreams of your heart? What things have you pursued in your life? What goals have you aimed for and worked towards? Or, if you are in a place of transition like Israel was, where are you going? Is God going with you, or are these just plans you've made up on your own that you think you'll accomplish in your own strength?

Here's the deal, we need to be different, but what makes us different is God's presence. And we have the promise that He is always with us, so it is now simply up to us to live in such a way that we recognize His presence. This means that we live as Moses did, making sure that we not just do what God says to do, but to do it in a relationship with Him that is more important to us than anything else.

Prayer Lord God,

Thank You for Your presence in my life! Please forgive me for times when I have not made Your presence the most important thing, and help me to always look to You before I go anywhere. Let me not run off on my own, remaining with You, so that I may be known as Yours!

Amen