Redeeming the time
March 19, 2020. Many have been practically quarantined in their homes because of the Coronavirus. This is surely a new place, a new thing. We have not been this way before. Like every new place or thing, it feels strange; it needs getting used to. I choose to look at this time of seclusion as a gift. This is a time that many dreamed of having some day: time to work on postponed dreams; time to clean out closets and minds; time to talk to loved ones; time to be still and listen.
Moses knew the purpose of seclusion very well. He was appointed to lead his people away from bondage in Egypt to the land God had promised them. They would need some laws to guide them as a community, to set boundaries so that they would not self-destruct in the wilderness. Twice God invited Moses to come up to the top of the mountain. The first time was to receive God’s commandments for the people. What a picture of sweet communion: “Moses spoke, and God thundered His reply. The Lord came down on the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain” (Exodus: 19:19-20, NLT). The Lord did this to fulfil an earlier promise he made to Moses: “I will come to you in a thick cloud…so the people themselves can hear me when I speak with you. Then they will always trust you” (Exodus 19:9, NLT).
The second time in the glory cloud, God invited Moses to come up to the mountain and wait for instructions. Moses waited in the glory cloud for seven days before God spoke to him, calling him up even higher. He remained on the mountain top for forty days and nights (Exodus 24:15-18, NLT). What did Moses do in this time? He waited. I believe he worshipped while he waited, believing that He would speak who had said, “build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among [you]… build the Tabernacle and its furnishings exactly according to the pattern I will show you” (Exodus 25:8-9, NLT). It was in solitude and silence that God revealed the blueprint for His Tabernacle.
I know there will be moments when this shut- in may be difficult for you but imagine what God might show you in the cloud. Maybe He is asking you to come on up higher, away from the crowd and the noise. Sometimes God needs us to be still for the spiritual downloads He has for us. He may very well be speaking to you now. Can you hear Him?
Photo by Keegan Houser on Unsplash
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