"I want to know the real You"

And Moses said, “Show me your glory.” Ex. 33:18

C.S. Lewis was right: We are far too easily pleased.

We too frequently settle for so much less than the fullness of who God is. In my own life, I have seen myself struggle with settling for the passing pleasures of sleep and chocolate rather than the potential deepness of a stronger relationship with God. Not that sleep and chocolate are bad - may it never be! But I know when, deep down, I'm making a choice that is taking me away from intimacy. And I don't like that after all these years, I still make such decisions.

That's why the story of Moses in Exodus 33 jumped out at me. Moses - begging God and interceding for Israel, unwilling to move forward without His presence - asks to see His glory. In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament used in New Testament times and quoted extensively in the New Testament, the translation means "Show me the real You."

Moses had been dealing with God's judgment over the golden calf incident (Ex. 32). Now, He asks God to reveal Himself in a new way. He wants to see "the real You".

Seeing God for who He really is still requires what Moses demonstrated in this chapter:
* Determination to meet with Him. We have to want His agenda, not our own. In a society like ours, most people want God on their side. Even for the faithless of Israel, the thought of losing God's presence was sobering. But He doesn't want us to co-opt Him to "our side". The real question should be, are we on His side. Are we determined to meet with Him, to not go up without Him?
* Willingness to be near, not worship at a distance like the Israelites. Most of us know someone who gets in frequent jams and is always ready to change during a crisis. These "Crisis Christians" are often prone to calling us for prayer, but not as willing to spend their own face time with Jesus. They want to stand at the tents like Israel, watching us go into His presence on their behalf. And God very graciously may respond. But like Israel, they will miss the depth of His glory. They will never truly see 'the real Him'.
* Intercession on behalf of others -- even those who don't "deserve" it.
* A desire to see His glory - to know "the real You". Sometimes, our own sin makes us fearful of what God is really like. Other times, we just don't want to do our part. We want Him to show up, but we don't make an effort to meet Him. When we truly desire to see His glory, we will find out what He's really like.
* A dependence on His presence. Moses was unwilling to go up without Him!

And just what did Moses see when God allowed Him this awesome privilege? Really only glimpses of glory - the 'fringes of His ways', as Job recalls. Yet even that shows an incredible truth. Because Moses was asking to see the real God in the context of Israel's sin, we might expect the Jealous God or God's wrath to be revealed. And these are rightfully considered part of His glory, because they are part of who He is. But what God reveals when Moses asks to see "the real You" cuts to the heart of the matter:

* Goodness
* Grace
* Mercy
* Revelation
* Covering

God's goodness, grace, and mercy were the very things that could have been in doubt because of the golden calf incident. Yet this passage reveals that God is full of those things. Given the chance to show Moses only a glimpse of His glory, this is the glimpse He selected. Adrain Rodgers used to say, "The cross didn't change God's heart; it revealed it." The heart He revealed to Moses when He gave him a glimpse of His glory is the same heart that sent Jesus to die for us when we were still His enemies.

This is the glimpse the Israelites missed, because they worshipped from afar. Because unlike Moses, they didn't want to see "the real You."

I Just Want to be Where You Are by Don Moen
I just want to be where You are,
dwelling daily in Your presence
I don't want to worship from afar,
draw me near to where You are

I just want to be where You are,
in Your dwelling place forever
Take me to the place where You are,
I just want to be with You

I want to be where You are,
dwelling in Your presence
Feasting at Your table,
surrounded by Your glory
In Your presence,
that's where I always want to be
I just want to be,
I just want to be with You

I just want to be where You are,
to enter boldly in Your presence
I don't want to worship from afar,
draw me near to where You are

Oh, my God,
You are my strength and my song
And when I'm in Your presence
Though I'm weak You're always strong

I just want to be
I just want to be with You