Exodus 33

 3 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.”

…

¹⁵ And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. ¹⁶ For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?”

¹⁷ And the Lord said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” 

The very presence of God in our lives is what makes us distinct from all other people.

We should always want this. I don’t believe that God has to give us permission for every step we take because he has given us boundaries and free will. But there are places we will want to go and decisions that we want to make, and he will not approve. We should not be willing to do it unless we know that God is with us. We should always consult God before we move and decide. We should be willing to say no if God is not with us.

It makes us reflect and realise how many times we move before we even think of consulting God. There are times when that thing we want is so desirable that we say yes, and we don’t ask God because we don’t want to hear him say no. Sometimes the easier thing to do is that thing that he does not want us to do.

Moses makes the point that it is God’s presence that makes us different. And that’s exactly true for us too. So, when we don’t have the presence of God who are we?

In a world where everyone has a solution or a god that they believe is the right way, we need them to see the true and living God. We should do everything to ensure that God’s presence is with us so that when people look at us, they will see something different. They will see our God. The true and living God.

Let us reflect and make sure that we are of this mindset, that is, we do not move unless God be with us.