Show Me Your Glory

​Last week, we explored the power and profound meaning of what it means to be known by God.  We talked about how God honored Moses’ request because He knew Moses and shared intimate relationship with Him.  Therefore, the LORD answered Moses’ intercession with a change of heart and showed Moses His glory while protecting him from the pure beauty and holiness of His presence. 
 
After all that, I was prepared to move on from this topic; however, God stirred my heart and pointed out another perspective to this amazing encounter: Moses’ point of view. We never explored what prompted Moses to make that bold request to see God’s glory.  So let’s do that today.  

“Moses said, ‘Please show me your glory.’”
~Exodus 33:18

​As we saw last week, Moses was already known by God.  He already enjoyed a special and deep connection with his Creator.  Moses had seen the burning bush. He had spent 40 days in the presence of God.  He talked with God face to face as a man talks with a friend.
 
But Moses wanted more.  He wanted to see God in all His glory.  He was not satisfied with his knowledge and experience of God. He wanted to go deeper.
 
Likewise, the more we know God, the more we want to know Him deeper.  God is not like an intellectual subject that the more you study the more satisfied you become with your knowledge.  On the contrary, the more we get to know and fellowship with God, the more we desire it.  God has wired us that way.  He’s designed us to deeply want more of Him. 
 
But the opposite is also true, the more we distance ourselves from the holy presence of our King, the less we want to do with Him.  This is why, generally speaking, passionate Christians become more passionate over time, while mediocre ones become more nominal.  Those who are in true, intimate, repeated fellowship with Almighty God want more of Him.  They are not satisfied with what they experience. It’s almost like an addiction, but a good, God-honoring one.
 
So Moses wanted more of God, and his desire for more prompts him to make a huge request:  “Please show me your glory.”  I don’t think Moses knew how much he was asking for.  I don’t think he realized or brought into consideration the fact that before Jesus, mortal man could not fully look upon the perfection of God.  But these things didn’t stop Moses.  He boldly approached God and asked Him flat out:  I want to see you fully!
 
How desperate are you for God?  Despair can be a destructive thing; however, if you’re desperate for God, you’ll do anything to see more of Him.  Most of the time, humans are only desperate for other human relationships.  Teens are desperate for a BFF, singles are desperate for a spouse, married couples are desperate for a child.  However, all human relationships will fail us at some point, so why are we so desperate for those things?  Why are we not desperate for God? Moses’ desperation for more of God drove him to ask a big request. 
 
Was God offended my Moses’ reckless request?  No!  I’m sure God was delighted by it, because it revealed how desperate Moses was to see more of Him.  And God answered Moses’ request.  God did it on His terms and in His way, not the way Moses probably initially thought of.  But was that because God was mean?  No!  God was protecting Moses from something Moses had not even considered.  So while Moses did get to see the glory of God, it wasn’t to the full extent that he had in mind because before Christ, man could not fully see God. 
 
However, I don’t think Moses was disappointed in the slightest.  Moses’ request was held with open hands.  He asked God boldly for something but did not give God directions on how to carry out his request.  He was open to God’s answer in whatever shape or form it took.
 
When was the last time you asked God for something big? The last time you prayed about something really bold and possibly reckless?  How did God answer?  Were you open with your request and simply asked—not told—God how to respond?
 
Often, we get caught up in thinking of how impossible things may seem.  Though we’d never admit it, I believe we are hampered in our prayers because we think our request is too much to ask of God.  We don’t think God can or will act, so we don’t ask.  But James 4:2 tells us, “You do not have because you do not ask.”  Therefore, if we enjoy intimate fellowship with God and truly desire more of Him, we should not be afraid to ask Him for big stuff!
 
However, when we ask, we must be careful how we ask.  I believe many Christians get caught up in telling God how to answer their prayers rather than simply laying the request before Him and waiting.  God rarely works the way we think He should.  His perspective and thoughts are much higher and broader than ours.  So why do we think we can tell Him what to do?! 
 
Therefore, boldly approach God and ask Him for big things, but leave the request open ended.  Don’t tell God what to do, because if your request is tied to a specific response, you probably won’t see an “answer” to your request because God is working outside the box you put Him in. 
 
And no matter what, may our biggest request be like Moses’, which was not for material things, relationship fixes, or personal gain, but more of God.  May we daily ask God for the same thing Moses requested:  Please, show me Your glory!  Show me more of You!  May the following song’s lyrics become our prayer and heart’s cry as we seek to become desperate for more of God:

"All I want is to live within Your love
Be undone by who You are
My desire is to know You deeper
Lord I will open up again
Throw my fears into the wind
I am desperate for a touch of heaven"
~"Touch of Heaven" by Hillsong Worship