Verse: But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. - Psalms 33:11Topic: How do I worship God when I don't feel like it?
Personal Piece: This week has been a crazy roller coaster. Last Saturday I had a bit of a break down after work and my pastor called me out on some stuff that I really needed to hear. Not that I didn't know what he was telling me but hearing it come out of somebody else's mouth was exactly what I needed to hear. The butterfly illustration from last week was really needed too. As of Monday I've decided to make a big change and get into a physical cocoon. Starting in July I will be moving back to Missouri for 6 months to live in full time prayer ministry. I'm nervous for sure, I struggle to pray for an hour a day most of the time and this will require 6-10 hours a day which sounds exhausting but it also sounds like exactly what I need. So if you think of it pray for me cause this year is going to be CRAZY.
Thought of the Week: When we think of Moses the first thing that often comes to mind is the plagues in Egypt. We think of this strong powerful man who didn't take no for an answer and kept standing before Pharaoh day after day to plead for his people. The funny thing is Moses wasn't the strong public speaker a lot of us like to make him out to be. At least not at first. When he first encountered God in the burning bush he told him that he stuttered, and that speaking wasn't his thing. I really relate to that encounter. I tend to stutter a lot when I'm talking to people who intimidate me. I struggle to get the words in my head out in a way that makes sense and a lot of times my tongue gets so tied I can't even finish my sentence (One of many reasons I love writing so much). Moses had a similar issue with speaking and when God told him to go he protested.
We often talk about God's rebuke, how he told Moses to go anyway and trust him but we forget that God also said that his brother Aaron would do the speaking. Once in Egypt Moses wasn't the one who spoke out against Pharaoh it was Aaron who did that. Aaron was the voice and Moses was the ears. He didn't get to his place of leadership by doing all the talking, he was appointed to leadership because he listened. Those days in Egypt were just the beginning of his prayer ministry. He prayed to God and God told him what would happen, when to go to Pharaoh, and what to have Aaron say when they got there.
It was the time spent on Sinai that really changed Moses. He spent 40 days with God going over the ins and outs of God's law and really making it a part of his own heart. He didn't just memorize the law, he got to know the heart of the God who wrote it. Spending that much time with Yahweh was bound to change him and by the time he came down off the mountain you could sense the confidence in him. He was no longer a man plagued by social anxiety, he no longer stuttered over his words, he had encountered Yahweh and he was no longer afraid of man's opinion. Moses' relationship with God was so intense that he eventually spent so much time with God that his face began to literally shine with God's glory to the point of him having to cover it up.
As amazing as Moses is the person who always sticks out to me is Moses' aide, Joshua. Joshua and and a number of leaders were invited to eat a dinner with God incarnate (also known as Jesus). They shared a meal together and then Moses went further into the mountain with Jesus. Joshua wasn't invited to go all the way up the mountain with Moses but he got as close as he could. He sat at the foot of the mountain and waited for 40 days while the rest of the leaders went down and got bored. They had eaten with Jesus but after 40 days they forgot everything that had happened. Joshua didn't forget because he never fully left that moment. As the people moved on toward the promised land Joshua stayed close to Moses. When Moses went to meet with God in the Tabernacle Joshua would wait outside and take in as much of God's glory as he was allowed and he would wait there until the glory lifted, often long after Moses had already left. I believe this is why Joshua was picked to succeed Moses after his death.
These two men are such an inspiration to me but Joshua especially. He wasn't chosen to speak to Yahweh face-to-face like Moses was but he didn't care. While many others just went through the motions and even begged Moses to hide his face from them, Joshua wanted to experience as much as he could. I don't know about you but there are some people that I have encountered in my life that seem to have such a close relationship with God that it makes me feel like a fake. I hear the way they pray and see the way they worship and though I know it isn't a comparing game I can't help but wonder if I am not as 'christian' as I thought. Those are the moments I remember Joshua. He could have compared himself to Moses and withdrawn like the others but he only compared himself to himself and experienced as much as he could.
As the leader of the Israelite's I'm sure there were a lot of other responsibilities that Moses had, the people were constantly demanding his advice. As his aide, Joshua would have been right there with him. Yet, I honestly don't think either of these men ever considered skipping out on their time with God. They were two of the busiest men among the people and yet they still made time to go, and they never regretted it. They took their time to really savor him and when the time came they didn't want to leave.
We can't truly encounter God when we are just trying to force him into our busy schedule to check something off our list. At first it may be difficult to spend time with God, we probably won't feel like it, but encountering God isn't about our emotions. We worship God because he is worthy. We listen and obey because he is God. We serve with joy and excellence because he is deserving. We don't deserve the gift of his presence, we don't deserve to experience his glory, and the truth is we might not experience it every day but we enter in anyway. Sometimes the closest you can get is the foot of the mountain or outside of the tent. Don't give up and don't compare. Joshua didn't have a ministry like Moses but he still encountered God in his own way, he still saw miracles and he was still used by God. If you push through the boredom and lack of motivation you too can experience his glory.
Digging Deeper: Moses' story can be found throughout the book of Exodus. For the burning bush experience see Exodus chapter 3 and 4, for the plagues on Egypt see chapters 7-11, for the meal that Moses and the leaders shared with Jesus see chapter 24, for what happened when Moses came down from the mountain see chapter 32, and for Moses' encounters with God see Exodus 33:7-23 and 34:29-35. The story of Joshua's calling can be found in the book of Joshua.
Two references I intended to put in but ran out of room for was 1) Mark 9:14-29 when Jesus casts out a demon that the disciples failed to cast out. When asked about it Jesus responds that there are some demons that can only be cast out through a life foundation of prayer. 2) Mark 10:46-52 where a blind man calls out to Jesus even after being told to be quiet. When Jesus finally comes to him, Jesus asks the man what he wants even though it is obvious that he is blind. Jesus makes him spell out his request instead of just assuming.
If you are interested in entering into the cocoon and want more information on the internship I am doing you can find it at www.ihopkc.org
Challenge: Set aside some additional time this week to really press into God. Try to set aside time every day to not only read his word but also pray. Remove all distractions (turn off your phone and go some place where you'll be alone) and keep a piece of paper and a pencil nearby. Ask God the things on your heart and make sure you spell out desires. Often we expect God to fix the problem but we don't even know what it is that we want from him exactly. Write down any verses, stories or revelations that come to your mind. Resist the urge to go online and look something up on your phone, you can do that at a later time Keep a separate piece of paper to write down any distractions. This will allow you to let those thoughts go and refocus on God without worrying about forgetting to feed the cat or put away your clothes.
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