Exodus 33:12-23
12 Moses said to the LORD, "You have been telling me, 'Lead these people,' but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, 'I know you by name and you have found favor with me.'
13 If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people."
14 The LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."
15 Then Moses said to him, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.
16 How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?"
17 And the LORD said to Moses, "I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name."
18 Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory."
19 And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
20 But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live."
21 Then the LORD said, "There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock.
22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.
23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen."

Moses has an array of questions pointed to God. Whom shall you send with me? Teach me your ways... Are you pleased with me..? How would anyone know that you chose me..? How am I different from these people?

God affirms him being pleased with Moses. Even then Moses said - now show me your glory. God said – I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you. But you cannot see my face!

God is real irrespective of how we feel about him. To mature your friendship with God, he will test it with periods of seeming separation. God feels a million mile away. David, “a man after God’s own heart’, frequently complained of God’s apparent absence(Ps 10:1, 22:1, 43:2). Of course God had not really left David and he does not leave you and me. He has promised repeatedly “ I will never leave you, nor forsake you (Deut 31:8, Ps 37:28).

In fact God admits that sometimes he hides his face from us. (Isaiah 45:15) This is a normal part of the testing and maturing of your friendship with God. Every Christian goes through it at least once, usually several times. It is painful; but it is absolutely vital for the development of your faith. (Job 23:8-10)

One major mistake people make in worship today is seeking an experience, rather than seeking God. God is always present even when you are unaware of him and his presence is too profound to be measured by mere emotions. Yes he wants you to sense his presence, but he is more concerned that you TRUST him than you feel him. Faith, not feeling pleases God.

Remind yourself what you know to be eternally true about God. He is good, he loves me, he is with me, he knows what I am going through, he cares, he has a good plan for my life. “Never doubt in the dark, what God told you in the light”.

Prayer idea

Try and list the eternal truths about God. Pray through it.