Life Without God

The LORD said to Moses, “. . . Go up to this land that flows with milk and honey. But I will not travel among you, for you are a stubborn and rebellious people. If I did, I would surely destroy you along the way.” Exodus 33:1, 3

WHILE MOSES WAS up on the mountain getting plans from God for the sanctuary in which he would come down and dwell among his people, something evil was happening below. The Israelites were throwing all of their gold into a fire to melt it and shape it into a calf to worship. Their outrageous idolatry put them at risk of losing the one thing that defined them as a people, the one thing that gave them hope for the future —the presence of God in their midst.

When the Lord came down to deal with their sin, they learned that God still intended to give them the land he had promised to them. He was going to drive their enemies out of the land so they could take possession of it and enjoy the good life there. But there was a problem. God wasn’t going with them. An angel would lead them there. Essentially what this meant was that they would get the best of everything this world had to offer . . . minus relationship with God.

The Israelites were facing life without God. Word must have spread quickly around the camp. “God is not going to go with us!” And when we read about it, we realize it presents a test for us and for our children. Do we just want the good stuff God gives to us, or do we genuinely want him? The reality is that many people want his provision and perhaps his protection, but they have no interest in his presence. And as parents that should make us consider: Is it evident in the way we talk about God and about his blessings, and in the way we pray to God and for his blessings, that we truly believe that his presence in our lives in the person of the Holy Spirit —speaking to us through his Word, binding us to Christ, comforting, teaching, and convicting us —is the blessing we cherish most?

Lord, help us to love you more than we love your blessings. Give ________ an unquenchable desire for your presence in her life so that when she faces the choice of having what the world offers apart from you, she will see that it will ultimately leave her empty. Lord, we love your blessings, but it is your presence with us by your Spirit that we cherish most of all.