“Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!” (Exodus 33:18)
“Caught a glimpse of Your splendor In the corner of my eye
The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen
And it was like a flash of lightning
Reflected off the sky And I know I’ll never be the same
Show me Your glory
Send down Your presence I wanna see Your face
Show me Your glory
Majesty shines about You I can’t go on without You, Lord” (From the song, “Show Me Your Glory”*)
The closing conversation between God and Moses in Exodus 33 is, to me, one of the most remarkable in the entire Old Testament if not in the entire Bible. Here we have the greatest, the noblest, the most admirable desire that a human being can have: the desire to see the glory of God. In a single moment of time, we step aside from focusing on what God is doing in order to perhaps catch but a glimpse of Who God is.
Moses has interceded on behalf of the Children of Israel, he has negotiated with God Almighty, pleading that He would continue to lead them by the Spirit of His Presence into the Land of Promise. And now, he can contain the deepest desire of his heart no longer. “I want to see Your glory!”, he implores. I am not satisfied with that which is in Your hands, Oh God, let me behold Your face!
When we look at the history of the Church, we see those few people who only come along every once in a while and who share this same sentiment which Moses held. Sure, every child of God has at least some desire to come closer to God, but this is not quite the same thing. This is a burning passion, an all-consuming hunger which originates in the very depths of the soul, a thirst to drink deeply of the Presence of Jesus Christ and to look upon God’s glory through unveiled eyes. This is the heartfelt cry of that rare individual who is willing to totally set aside every single personal ambition and desire so that they might fulfill this one longing which chokes out every other competing aspiration.
It is echoed in the words of David who declared,
“Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
Let Your glory be above all the earth” (Psalm 57:11)
And in the silence of Job who, in his shame, said to the Lord:
“Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You?
I lay my hand on my mouth.Once I have spoken, and I will not answer;
Even twice, and I will add nothing more.” (Job 40:4-5)
It is the glory which terrified the Apostles on the Mount of Transfiguration (Mark 9:6) and caused John to fall at the feet of Jesus like a dead man (Revelation 1:17). Yet it is also the glory which comforted Stephen as he testified before the Sanhedrin, beholding the glory of God right before he was put to death (Acts 7:55-60), strengthening him and giving him the power to pray that the sins of his tormentors not be charged against them. It is the glory which blinded the Apostle Paul on the Road to Damascus (Acts 9:3-9), but compelled him, even after walking with the Lord for many years, to later remark that his heart’s desire was:
“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;” (Philippians 3:10 KJV)
The glory of God is a peculiar thing in that it is the one pursuit wherein a man may be both satisfied and yet ever long for more. It is a thirst which is quenched but always remains, and the more of it we drink in the more that we want. David caught glimpses of God’s glory throughout his life and he compared himself to a deer panting for brooks of flowing water in his pursuit of God’s glory (Psalm 42:1).
Where are you at today, dear Christian, in your own relationship with the Lord? Have you come to the place in your walk where nothing else matters but to see the glory of God? Are you seeking to see His face or are your eyes still fixed upon His hands, looking only for the blessings He can bring you? Every great movement of the Spirit of God throughout the history of the Church has been preceded by certain of God’s people catching but a glimpse of His glory and setting out in prayerful pursuit of more. The world has yet to see what our God can do if we, as His people, would only set the pursuit and exaltation of His glory above all else.
To God goes all glory. In service to Him,
Loren
**Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) © The Lockman Foundation and are used by permission.
* “Show Me Your Glory” (Songwriters LEE, MARK D. / ANDERSON, SAMUEL TAI / AVERY, BRADLEY B. C. / CARR, DAVID / POWELL, JOHNNY MAC / BYRD, MARC)
Published by Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Read more: Third Day – Show Me Your Glory Lyrics | MetroLyrics
[If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ or you are not certain where you are headed when this life ends, I invite you to read the article "Am I Going To Heaven?"]
