“Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.” (Exodus 33:13-14 KJV)

Moses asked for it and the Lord gave it. How many thousands of Christian leaders are wasting their time asking for other things but not the presence of God in their congregation, parishes, families and offices? Many ask for general blessings from new cars to new houses but all of these fail comparatively in measure to His marvelous presence. What makes babies attractive are because they are born with God’s resplendent presence surrounding them. Matter-of-factly, this is why most of us whether we like children or not are compelled to look at them either because of their teeny voices or their lovely faces. We may ask, what is in the presence of God that all leaders should be asking for?

“See, I am sending an angel before you to protect you on your journey and lead you safely to the place I have prepared for you. Pay close attention to him, and obey his instructions. Do not rebel against him, for he is my representative, and he will not forgive your rebellion. But if you are careful to obey him, following all my instructions, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will oppose those who oppose you…”You must serve only the Lord your God. If you do, I will bless you with food and water, and I will protect you from illness”(Exodus 23:20-22, 25 NLT).

This is the presence of God; He goes ahead of us, we follow closely from behind and we obey anything He says. Does it go as literal as that? For some this maybe the case but for most it may not be as literal as that. To have God’s presence in our midst can mean many things but to feel His presence means to have His anointing as well as His wonderful presence going with you. It is God’s presence that will compel many followers to obey true Christian leaders because His presence comes only in a hallowed and devout life of a disciple. When we have His presence we will not only have peace but also rest. Real peace emanate from having the Prince of Peace living in us and with us. This is why the first step always involves making peace with your Maker. Without this step, you will always be in want trying many things to bring your inner self into peace but finding nothing.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

“I will personally go with you… and I will give you rest—everything will be fine for you.” (Exodus 33:14 NLT)

Here we find, that asking God’s presence is not after all a presumption as Moses did but rather it is an act that God is also waiting for us to do so. It is the Lord’s presence that can heal a broken heart, a broken relationship or a divided family. His presence can bring refreshing and quickening to our mortal bodies (Rom. 8:11). Diseases, infirmities and mental oppressions cannot stay when we have His presence in us. As we spend more time in His presence, this is transferred not just into our beings but also in our physical bodies. This is why the face of Moses shone brightly before the Israelite congregation after 40 days and 40 nights spent with God at the top of Mount Sinai. Today we don’t often see this kind of physical manifestation but we do see its equivalent today in lives changed and touched by people of God who has His presence indwelling them. This is what makes an effective leader, the indwelling presence of God which provides strength and wisdom necessary to serve a congregation or body.

The life that we now live, if lived for the Lord, we will also enjoy the abundant life just as Moses did. He was so filled with the presence of God that even at the day the Lord would take him to heaven, his strength and eyesight has never dimmed. God had to take him anyway so He just buried his body somewhere so that succeeding generations will not find out where and use it for idolatrous worship. Likewise, Enoch was so filled with His life so that God has just to take him intact without tasting death. To both men, think about it, all of science is trying to find a cure for ageing but the secret is a life lived in communion with the Lord.

Living in communion with the Lord does not need to mean stern looking, fist pounding preachers or disciples. To change the world, we do not need to be another copy cat of a revivalist or apostle. We simply need to do the part God has for us. It begins by simply obeying the Ten Commandments and praying daily for your family, nation and yourself. When we fall in love with His presence, the time spent with God increases. This time does not need to be all intercessions or supplications; it can simply be your story and the Lord hearing what you say. It can begin as that and end up hearing what He has to say to you.

“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God…”

“…Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” (Colossians 3:2-3, 15)

Living a balanced life should always be our goal whether we are in a heavy or stressful situation or simply enjoying a vacation. Jesus always lived a balanced life that’s why we do not see his character sketch in the Bible tainted with any nervous breakdowns or neglect of his family members. Well it is easy to judge Him and say because He was God so these things did not happen to Him when He walked the earth. Well, the truth is, just as we are flesh and blood, so he became so that he can save us. He suffered more than what we can bear so that we do not need to but anytime during His sufferings He could have easily reclaimed His deity but He did not because He did all things for our sake.

“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.” (Hebrews 2:9-10)

These Scriptures simply tell us why He was made flesh and blood, and that was to make Him suffer for mankind’s Sin, to “taste death for everyone”. Thus, no one can simply reason out that He did suffer it but did not feel it because He was God. For us, the application is clear, we can live a fruitful and healthy life in Christ not just by watching our diets but more than these, we actually spend more time with Him during our prayers. When we do so, we will be transformed just as the Korean Church had demonstrated before the world.

When complaints arise in our hearts due to our situations, we would know what to do. Before we go to our offices, business meetings, or our daily tasks, asking for His presence will always be a better choice for a Christian to do so. It is by abiding with the Lord’s presence that Moses was able to lead a stiff necked and stubborn generation from defeat to victory, from bondage to freedom. Because of this, his name will forever be remembered in the annals of history for setting free and leading a generation full of bitterness and complaints that any leader would better leave of and set out alone. There is something big and evil in complaining which is why the Lord punished the Israelites severely for their complaints. Complaining reveals the state of one’s heart…it is a heart without faith. It shows how weak we are and how disconnected we have been with the Lord. The reaction of the Lord to the Israelites during their complaints can be gleaned as a similar reaction when we complain against Him about our situations, our spouses, our teachers or our leaders.

“You will know that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord” (Exodus 16:8)

“I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.” (Exodus 32:9-10)

He was against complaining because this shows our lack of faith in His ability to deliver His promises. When we complain, it is evidence that we have given up hope which is the anchor of our soul. Now we need to understand that the Lord’s goal for the Israelites was not simply freedom from Egypt as much as Egypt’s influence within their hearts. He allowed them to march through the wilderness because the trial will bring about the best or the worst in man. The Lord bets that it would give the best in man; the first generation actually failed to be the generation that would be completely free from the influence of Egypt, for their bitter complaints led them into 40 years of trials in the wilderness. Although this was a tragic case, a newer and bolder generation arose from this that fully obeyed the Lord and conquered the Promised Land so that in the end it did not frustrate the Lord’s hope. Thus, when we have a complaining heart, it really shows who we are, that we do not really trust Him that He is in control. When we lose this perspective, we will lose everything and begin to blame everyone. We can only do one thing at a time, either to complain or to trust the Omnipotent and Omnicient God.

The right reaction

What shall we do then when we are trapped? When we feel the need to vent off our anger at someone who did us wrong? What shall we do when we find our leaders seem to be slow in finding solutions to problems we referred to them? Shall we be bitter and complain? Our reactions to problems and situations are actually our reaction to what God is doing in our life. When we do the same foolish mistakes as the Israelites did, we are sure to end up in defeat. There is however a better way than this and it promises sure victory.

“God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it. For this good news—that God has prepared this rest—has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God. For only we who believe can enter his rest. As for the others, God said, “In my anger I took an oath: ‘They will never enter my place of rest,’” even though this rest has been ready since he made the world.” (Hebrews 4:1-3 NLT)

The doorway, the gate to enter His presence is no other than faith! Complaining is counterproductive to faith. It is a false faith. True faith is not founded on circumstances or based on other people. True faith will always rest on this truth…God is powerful enough to be able to deliver His promises and omniscient to do it in His time. True faith will always be centered on what the Lord can and not on what we can or what we will do. To those who believe Him, he has a great reward because He is a rewarder of those who seek Him even though they did not see Him.

IF we will seek Him, we will always find Him. It begins when we stop trusting ourselves and we start looking at Him. If we believe that He cares, we will not waste our time and effort complaining of our situations but rather we start thanking His goodness to us; “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you” (1 Peter 5:7 NLT). When we realize what the apostle Peter is saying we will stop worrying and spend the rest of our time praying before God. This does not mean that we should only pray our concerns during our prayer times as Muslim or Hindus do, but we pray wherever and whenever we can because Jesus said, “why are you sleeping?…Get up and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you” (Luke 22:46 NLT). Prayer is more powerful than any nuclear or pulse bombs; it has stopped the mouth of lions, it has brought rain and water, it has removed the bitter taste of a well, it has brought down the walls of Jericho, it has brought down the institution of slavery and communism. We pray even in impossible situations and tasks at hand because we believe that the Lord can do the impossible, “For nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). Only through faith and patience we will be victorious. If we continue to do good, we shall reap the same; we overcome evil by being good inside out.

“For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. Remember what it says: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.” And who was it who rebelled against God, even though they heard his voice? Wasn’t it the people Moses led out of Egypt? And who made God angry for forty years? Wasn’t it the people who sinned, whose corpses lay in the wilderness? And to whom was God speaking when he took an oath that they would never enter his rest? Wasn’t it the people who disobeyed him?

So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter his rest.” (Hebrews 3:14-19 NLT)

“That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” (Hebrews 6:12 KJV)