Let's stretch

"You seem to be closer to God.  Could you pray for........"   Over the years this has happened to me several times in the workplace.  People forget they have the same opportunity to pray and speak to God as I.  What makes them unsure of the availability of God?

In Deuteronomy 5:22-29 Moses is retelling the delivery of the ten commandments.  God's voice came out of fire, cloud and deep darkness before the whole assembly of the people.   After this experience the tribal leaders and elders came to Moses and said "God has shown us His glory and majesty in a loud voice.  Today we saw a man can live even if God speaks to him but what about next time?  Why should we take the risk?  So Moses, you go ahead and speak with God and then come tell us all about it.  We promise to listen and obey."  (Right, that is definitely the Jan translation!)

I've always thought, "Silly Israelites!  You would give up this opportunity to go to The Source!" Then I am always surprised when God responds with "Everything they said was good."  So this is what God wants?

In the King James version, God's response is translated "well spoken".  Perhaps God meant what they said was true. We are human and think we need humans to meet our needs.

We need skin.  We need tangible people that we can touch, if we want.  It's a dilemma.  God created us to have a need for relationship but we also have a need for touch.  So we keep looking for other humans to satisfy this longing.

I see in these verses again-- We need a Savior.  We need One to bridge that gap between intimate relationship with the One True God and our humanity.

God wants us to "incline to Him and keep His commands" but He also understands our humanity.  We don't think it's in us to have that intimate relationship with the greatness and majesty of God.  God loved us so much that He revealed Himself.  Jesus was like us, with skin, but at the very same time God Himself.

God created us with the need to "incline to Him" but we let our fears interfere with that relationship.  God's desire, and the desire He has placed in our hearts, is that we incline to Him and keep His commands so it will go well for us and our families.

I looked up the word "incline" in a concordance.  One of the meanings is to stretch.  I need to stretch myself and reach out to God.  It is a stretch in my mind to think God loves me enough to want a personal relationship with me, who would have been right with the leaders and elders after hearing God's voice.  It's easy for me, centuries later, to think I'd have been braver and had more faith but I have to admit, I sleep with lights on!

Today I remember that God really knows my humanity, loves me anyway and provides me with the means to have a personal relationship with Him.  I need to stretch my faith in myself and God and get to know Him more.  He knows me well.  How well do I know Him?

Relationship + obedience = a good life