What we learn from Moses' walk with the Lord

by Kevin Carson

If you search “formulas for success in life” on Google, you get about 41,100,000 results. That’s crazy. Are there that many different formulas for success? Is it just up to the individual to survey the options and choose what may work the best? Talk about pressure to get it right! How am I supposed to know which one to pick?

For the follower of Christ, the best way to determine how to be successful is to start in the Bible. You may want to consider prescriptively how to be successful and descriptively look at those who were successful. Who are the individuals that God blessed and why?

One of those Bible characters God richly blessed was Moses. The Bible describes his relationship with God at Moses’ death this way: “But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face” (Deut 34:10). I’m not sure your definition of a successful person, but it must include Moses. Then what can we observe about Moses that helps us for daily living today?

Let me suggest three key observations related to Moses that will help us be the best version of the kind of person God intends for us to be.

Moses insisted on the Lord’s Presence.

Before the children of Israel left Mount Sinai for the Promised Land, God told Moses that He would send an angel to go with them on the journey. God said, “And I will send My Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. Go up to a land flowing with mild and honey; for I will not go up in your midst…” (Ex 33:2-3).

Bottom line – Moses is promised success. God promised to send an angel to go before them and give them the Promised Land. They win. They get the land. The other people are defeated. God promises victory. Most of us would be satisfied with this.

However, check out Moses’ response to God. “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” (Ex 33:15-16).

Moses basically explains to God that he is not willing to go anywhere – even with the promise of victory – without God going with them. Moses insisted on the Lord’s presence. In the best way, Moses was stubborn. He knew any victory would be shallow if in the process of gaining the victory that they missed out on the presence of God.

Now get that. Victory – having all your goals met – fails to satisfy if, in the process, you miss out on the presence of God. As they say, victory is shallow. What good is there in gaining everything if you miss God’s presence in the process? Ultimately, that is not success at all.

Victory - having all your goals met - fails to satisfy if, in the process, you miss out on the presence of God.

Moses enjoyed God’s presence.

God and Moses were friends. Moses talked daily with God. The Bible says, “So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend” (Ex 33:11). Imagine that…God spoke to Moses as a friend. God and Moses enjoyed each other’s presence. Think how sweet it is to be with your best friend – to talk, laugh, enjoy each other’s presence. When the time is gone, you are refreshed, renewed, and restored. A great conversation with your close friend can take the worst of circumstances and make them better, can take a mediocre day and turn it into a good day, and can provide the uplift you need to face a particular challenge because you have received encouragement, advice, and support. These benefits are from our human friends.

Now imagine enjoying God’s presence in a similar way. Moses and God were friends. Moses spent regular time with Him (Ex 33:7-11). How incredible is that?

Guess what? If you are a Christ-follower, then you also are considered a friend of God (John 15:9-17). Jesus called His followers His friends. He invites us to abide with Him. He loves us. Just as we read of God having specific friends like Moses and Abraham (James 2:23), we also read that Jesus chooses to be our Friend and invites us to enjoy His presence. He never leaves us or forsakes us. He is with us always (Matt 28:20). The issue is not whether or not Jesus is with us, the issue is whether or not you enjoy His presence and reap the benefits of that friendship.

The issue is not whether or not Jesus is with us, the issue is whether or not you enjoy His presence and reap the benefits of that friendship.

Moses recognized God’s friendship as grace.

Moses asked God, “For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us?” (Ex 33:16). Moses made a one-to-one connection between God’s grace and His presence. Again, that’s what is so cool about our relationship with God too. We have His presence always. God the Father is omnipresent, God the Son never leaves us, God the Holy Spirit indwells us, and God’s Word – His words to us – is forever. We can read His Word, memorize His Word, meditate on His Word, and share His Word with each other. All of this is grace.

The friendship of God is grace upon grace upon grace. We do not deserve it, just as Moses did not deserve it. God said to Moses, “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion” (Ex 33:19). Moses and the children of Israel – just like every one of us – did not deserve God’s grace. Yet, God in His grace was their friend. As Paul considered God’s relationship with Israel, he concluded, “So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy” (Rom 9:15-16). Your friendship with God magnifies God’s mercy and grace. It is no small thing to be a friend of God.

Your friendship with God magnifies God's mercy and grace. It is no small thing to be a friend of God.

Are you stubborn in the best way?

Are you stubborn in the best way? Do you insist on not going anywhere without the awareness of God’s presence? Do you recognize than any victory or success in life is empty or vain without enjoying God’s presence along the way? Do you worship God daily in gratitude of His marvelous grace and mercy that He bestows upon you in friendship?

Be stubborn in the best way. Do not budge one inch from your current position without making yourself aware of God’s presence, enjoying His presence, and rejoicing in the grace of God’s presence with you in this moment and throughout your day and night.

For more information on the presence of God, consider this post: When Your Trial Seems Impossible.

Pastor Kevin’s Blog | Walking together through life as friends in Christ sharing wisdom along the journey