FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD
The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.
Exodus 33:11a (NIV)
Take a minute and think of a public figure you’d love to be friends with. Maybe it’s an actor or a musician, or it could be an athlete or an influencer. Now, what’s the likelihood you could text that person and arrange to hang out? I’d say pretty slim. They most likely have a team of people limiting access to their presence, so you’re left to admire them from a distance and hear what they’re like secondhand from others.
Sadly, a lot of people translate this mentality onto a relationship with God. Many view God like an unrelatable celebrity that only privileged people can get close to. But that’s not the God of the Bible. From the beginning, God has been in pursuit of ordinary people, making Himself known in different ways. Throughout much of the Old Testament, God spoke to prophets through visions and dreams, but He took a different approach with Moses.
Exodus 33:11 describes the conversations between God and Moses like those of friends speaking face to face. Now, Moses didn’t actually see the physical face of God. To do so would lead to death (Exodus 33:20). The language face-to-face conveys Moses being in the presence of the personhood of God. He experienced an intimacy and closeness with God like no other man of his time. He openly and honestly communicated directly with God the same way one speaks to a friend. Moses brought his unfiltered passion, his questions, his frustrations, his confessions and his praise to God and the two dialogued through it all together.
Moses was unique in his day, but this is the kind of relationship God wants to have with you today! God is not a celebrity that you have to wonder what it’s like to be friends with. You don’t have to admire Him from a distance or hear what He’s like from other people. You can come boldly into His presence today in the name of Jesus (Hebrews 4:14-16). He wants to be with you, and He’s the one sending you the invitation.
APPLICATION: Believe that the God of the Universe wants to speak to you and be your friend.
PRAYER: God, what a privilege it is for You to call me friend. Like Moses, I want to experience the intimacy of close friendship with You. Amen.
“… Our Father in heaven…” Matthew 6:9b (NLT)
- What do You want to say to me today as my Father?
“… may Your name be kept holy.” Matthew 6:9c (NLT)
- What do You want to reveal to me about Your power today?
“May Your Kingdom come soon.” Matthew 6:10a (NLT)
- Help me make Your priorities my priorities today.
“Give us today the food we need,” Matthew 6:11 (NLT)
- Is there anything specific You want me to do with my time or the people I’m around today?
“and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” Matthew 6:12 (NLT)
- Reveal to me anyone I need to forgive or ask for forgiveness.
“And don’t let us yield to temptation…” Matthew 6:13a (NLT)
- Is there anywhere I’m vulnerable to temptation?