How patient the Lord is, and how stubborn His people can be! How much better would it have been for them if they had only surrendered to his Lordship, instead of merely calling him the Lord!
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Scripture
Exodus 33:3-4
(The Lord said to Moses…) “Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.” When the people heard this disastrous word, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments.”
Observation
How patient the Lord is, and how stubborn His people can be! The desire of God’s heart was to bless his people, to take them to a land overflowing with abundant resources, to pour out his extravagant blessing on them…and yet their attitude toward him was one of constant, ongoing stubbornness and rebellion. God’s goodness never stopped–he was still taking them to the promised land…but his presence would not be among them. Even this was an expression of God’s love for them! He didn’t withdraw his presence out of spite, but because he knew that in their sin they would be consumed by a direct encounter with his presence.
How much better would it have been for them if they had only surrendered to his Lordship, instead of merely calling him the Lord!
Application
God only knows I how much I need an attitude adjustment from time to time. Despite God’s goodness and his mercy, my attitude still stinks when I become focused on my own desires, my own wants, and my own way instead of His plans and His way. If I harbor a stubborn and unrepentant heart toward God, my attitude will drive his presence from me. I don’t want to push aside His presence from my life! I don’t want to reject the one who stands waiting, wanting to walk with me and lead me through the wilderness to a place of abundant blessing!
I choose today to check my attitude before the Lord Almighty. I choose to bow my knee and my heart to the God of the universe, and welcome His presence into my life!
Prayer
God, thank you for your presence and your love for me! Help me to keep my heart malleable in your hands and surrendered to you. I don’t want to drive your presence from me! Show me when my attitude needs an adjustment, so that I would be brought to a place of repentance before you.
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