Face to Face with a Friend

Those times when you sit down with a dear friend, face to face, are treasured. They may be so impactful that you remember them for a lifetime. The advice they gave, the listening ear they turned your way, or just the support you treasure so dearly.

This kind of time in the Word and with Jesus is also a treasured moment. I remember some of the sweetest times I sat with my Bible open and didn’t know where to turn. Instead of flipping through the pages, I stained them with my tears and heartaches.

I have opened them with no expectations except to meet my friend that day. For Him to pour into my heart something I so desperately needed to hear.

I have opened my Bible praying that God would lead me to a place of peace and learning and wouldn’t you know it. He knows just the words I needed at that moment and directs me straight to it.

A friend that knows the number of hairs on my head and the flaws in my heart certainly can have a word for me and so that is where I go.

But I long for the day when I can sit down with Him, face to face, and talk to Him, as a friend.

Face to Face with Moses

The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent. Exodus 33:11 NIV

Moses treasured this time. He was favored by the Lord to lead His people out of the oppression of slavery. Moses lead them in their delivery out the hands of the Egyptians to a land flowing with milk and honey.

This is a section of verses that I have read time and time again. But until recently, it hadn’t struck me so powerful as to bring me to tears.

Moses, face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Savor in that for a while. This is what time with the Lord does. He draws you in like a friend. There are many definitions of the word friend but the one that strikes me most is intimate.

Just me and Him in these intimate moments. A time I delight in and treasure as I do a dear friend. I don’t want to miss the appointments and the coffee dates. I don’t want to miss those times where my heart is poured into like a drink offering refreshed and restored.

But then life happens and then I feel the gaps in our friendship and feel weakened. Then I come back to passages like these and realize this is where I truly find life, sitting down with my friend, face to face.

I Want My Face to Glow

One time I was in Bible study leading a small group. After we had finished our discussion a lady said to me, I want to have a glow like you have. That was a great compliment because it meant I was shining Jesus’ light.

I know I don’t always have a glow but this night I must have. Not because I was wearing extra highlights but because my faith was pouring out of me. Nothing gets me more excited than having discussions about the God and His Word.

Right before that, I had spent most of the day in the Word in the presence of the Lord. My heart was full and it poured out of me. I was so excited because several years before that I had been studying Exodus and reading about Moses’ glowing face.

In Exodus 34, it describes Moses going onto the mountain to get the second set of stone tablets. It says he was there forty days and forty nights without eating and drinking, spending time with the Lord. When he came down this time, his face was aglow.

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. Exodus 34:29 NIV

In fact, his face was so radiant, the people became scared and he had to veil his face.

After studying this section of scripture I was visiting with my grandma telling her all about what I was learning. I was picturing Moses’ face just lighting up like a neon sign that flashed, I have just been with my Lord. I was so excited, I said to her, “I want my face to glow!”

Spending time with Jesus and then sharing it with others, pouring out what God has poured into you, may not make your face physically glow like a neon sign but it can certainly shine a light in this dark world. Share on X

I Don’t Want To Go Any Further

Moses had come to a place with the Israelites where they were causing the Lord to burn with anger. When Moses had gone onto the mountain for the first set of tablets, the Israelites had become restless. Instead of waiting on the God, they decided to make their own gods.

They wanted a person to follow that they could see right in front of their discontented eyes and they wanted a god they could see while they bowed down. So melting down all their gold, they had Aaron craft them a golden calf.

When the Lord saw this, He burned with anger. He said to Moses. You have to go from this place. This is a stiff-necked people and I cannot be around them or I will destroy them.

The Lord told them to go.

He would send an angel to go before them to drive out all their enemies and deliver them to the land that He promised to their fathers. A land flowing with milk and honey.

There was one condition. He wasn’t going with them.

Moses pleaded with the Lord. Lord You have asked us to go but you haven’t said who will go with us.

 Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.” Exodus 33:15 NIV

Moses was not willing to go any further without the Presence of God. “How will anyone know we are your people? How will we be distinguished from all the other people on the face of the earth?”  Moses pleaded with the Lord.

Precious Time Face to Face

Moses had spent some precious time face to face with the Lord. In this time with Him, the Lord became His identity. We see this in Moses’ response to Him. “How will anyone know we are yours if you are not there.”

This is the part of the story that stops me in my tracks.

• How many times have I gone before the Lord or completely without Him?
• How often do I let my reflection, my attitude, my behavior outshine the presence of the Lord in my life?
• Would I be willing to take all the provisions the Lord had to offer, a land flowing with milk and honey, driving out my enemies, and bring me to my promised land, with the one provision that He wouldn’t be there?
• Is the presence of the Lord in my life my true identity or do I allow the world, my circumstances, and my feelings determine my identity?

Moses response was the response we should have to the Lord daily.

Lord, my time in your presence, becomes my identity. I need that intimate time face to face with my friend. I am your people and without your presence, I cannot leave this place.

What if we made no attempts to go out into the world without sitting in the presence of the Lord. What if we, as believers, said I will not go into this place without you Lord.

He can become our true identity but it takes time in His presence. Even though we cannot physically sit face to face with Jesus, we can sit in His presence. We can talk to Him through prayer and learn from Him through His Holy Word. We can be still before Him and follow His lead.

Prayer

Please join me in prayer today as we begin this journey of Cherished Moments: Face to Face with Jesus.

Heavenly Father,

Your presence is where I receive life. Lord, I do not want to go into my life without it. I treasure the time that I have with you. Please help me to carve out that time in my life every single day. Please swing the door wide open so I am without excuse. Lord, I want to sit in your presence. I want to enjoy my time with you as I long for the day to sit with you face to face. Lord, please teach me, guide me, and help me gain wisdom as I learn from all you have for me in your Word. Lord, thank you for never leaving me to do this alone and please forgive me for all the times that I have tried. Please bless this journey.

In Your Precious Name, Amen!

Personal Reflections

Please share your thoughts with us in the comments. Also, feel free to journal your responses with us as we go through this study.

1. How many times have I gone before the Lord or completely without Him?
2. How often do I let my reflection, my attitude, my behavior outshine the presence of the Lord in my life?
3. Would I be willing to take all the provisions the Lord had to offer, a land flowing with milk and honey, driving out my enemies, and bring me to my promised land, with the one provision that He wouldn’t be there?
4. Is the presence of the Lord in my life my true identity or do I allow the world, my circumstances, and my feelings determine my identity?

 

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