The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. 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?”
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.”
Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
Exodus 33:14-18
The glory of God. A sight to be witnessed by our spirit and not our eyes for God Himself declared that anyone who should lay eyes upon Him would not survive the sheer power of it all. But Moses was bold in his asking desiring the Lord to show him His weight, mass, and substance. Moses desired for God to show him what He was really made of. And perhaps we too, as those who are called to lead, must enter into this new year calling out the same prayer, for what distinguishes us as His flock from a world who’s breath is heavy with sorrow?
Because of all people, Moses knew that leadership is fraught with adversity and challenge. Leadership is laced with uncertainty and fear. And leadership requires one to first be led.
Every new year brings with it a measure of hope: hope for what will come; hope for what will be. But for hope to be birthed beyond daydreams and desire, one must labour in time of prayer and petition for God to show His glory through the pain.
So, as we begin this year anew, let us too raise our voices akin to Moses asking the Lord to show us what He is made of. Show us His power, and glory, and capabilities beyond all that we care to dream or imagine. For the Lord our God knows us by name and has set us apart for His purposes. And in those purposes, His presence must go first.
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