When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. Exodus 34: 29-30
Glowing
You know when someone is really, really happy because you can see it all over their face. They literally glow. It comes from the inside and radiates off their cheeks. There are many things in life that can make us glow, like love, family, and health. But nothing makes us glow like being close to God.
Moses had the unique opportunity of speaking with God face to face on more than one occasion. When God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses, Moses was with God for 40 days and 40 nights on Mt. Sinai. When he came down the mountain, he was glowing so much that Aaron and all the Israelites were afraid to get close to him. That must have been such a sight to see.
Anyone who experiences the Lord will be changed. Moses’ 40 days and 40 nights in the very presence of God changed him. He was never the same after that experience. Neither can we be the same after an encounter with God. We should be changed, and everyone should be able to notice – like the glow on Moses’ face. If we want to experience transformation, we have to position ourselves for it, like Sam Nobles said: In order to experience transformation, you have to position yourself for transformation. Spiritual transformation begins in the presence of God. If you are not regularly in the presence of God, you will never experience any kind of transformation that gives you noticeable victory in your life.
Moses covered his face to hide some of the glow because the people were afraid of him. Do we hide the glow of God’s presence in our lives too? As the glow faded, he kept it wrapped so the people would not see his glow fade. Do we not do that also? When we have moved away from the Lord don’t we hide that from other people? Don’t we try to keep them from seeing how much our glow had faded? We veil ourselves to keep the world from knowing who we really are. We hide our weaknesses, sin, shame, and secrets but the veil doesn’t hide all this from God. He sees straight through. He knows it all, and He still loves us.
The closer your proximity to God, the more your face glows. Moses came down the mountain and the glory of the Lord was shown on his face. When we have been in the Lords presence, our faces glow. Our lives glow. The longer Moses was away from the presence of God, the less his face shined. The glow dulled as he was away from God. The further away from God we are, the less we shine. People will notice a difference when you shine, and they will notice a difference when your shine starts to fade.
Only being in the presence of God can get us glowing. Only staying in the presence of God will keep us glowing. The good news is it is readily available for all of us because of Jesus! Christ can get us face-to-face with God. No door, no curtain, no veil. Just our unveiled faces with His.
Today, will those you come into contact with see the glow of God on your face? Will it be evident to them that you have been with God? We need to take a trip up the mountain with God, hear His word, honor and bless His wonderful name so that when we come down from the mountain, we can make Him known to those in our life.
