Fresh encounters in desolate places...

Mount Horeb was not what it appeared to be. Though forbidding and barren, it actually came to symbolize that season in a person’s life where a desolate soul could find the presence of God. Both Elijah and Moses found fresh encounters with God on Horeb. Surrounded by the bleak and barren environment, the Lord reduced His servants to one focus: God alone.

The Horeb experience tells us that God accommodates our times of desolation and uses them to prepare us for greater glory. Out of our barrenness comes a renewed dependency upon God, from which new assignments and increased power emerge.

It was here, in the cleft of a rock near Horeb, that Moses prayed, ‘If I have found favor in Thy sight, let me know Thy ways, that I may know Thee” (Exo 33:13)

If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. (NIV)

And it was here that the Lord, in turn, promised, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest (v14).

We cannot say we truly know God if we remain ignorant of His ways. To know the ways of a person is to know his heart’s motivations, as well as how he would respond to the blessings and challenges of life. Moses knew the Lord in the deepest intimacy possible; he knew God’s ways.

The Bible tells us that the Lord revealed His acts to the sons of Israel, but He made known His ways to Moses (Ps 103:7)

To know the ways of God is to become knowledgeable of the motives of His heart and intimate with the secrets of his passions. It is to know His love – the heart of a Father for his children.

We enter the rest of God when His presence is over us. We do not need to strive in ministry or in our walk with Him. To enter God’s rest does not imply that we have become inactive but that God has become active. Jesus calls “come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest" (Mt 11:28).

The church needs to return to Jesus and re-enter God’s rest! Yoked to Christ our burdens are transferred to the vastness of His strength and abilities. God has always been more concerned with the condition of our hearts than the activity of our hands. What we become for Him is far more consequential than all we shall ever do for Him. He wants our love and companionship.

Our devotion to our task should not exceed our devotion to Him, or we become dry and we loose our zeal eventually. It is the Lord’s desire that our success not originate from our strength but from our union with Him. Our time of desolation, brokenness, and disappointment becomes a tool in his hand where He works within us a deeper dependency upon His strength.

Alone with God on Horeb, Moses prayed, “Show me thy Glory! (Exo 33:18).
The Lord responded, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you (v19). At the center of Christ’s resplendent glory is His incomparable goodness. Indeed, our Horeb experience becomes the very site where, in spite of our sense of failure, God reveals to us His goodness.

We can be honest at Horeb. We have nothing to prove and no need to pretend. Here, at Horeb, the internal mechanisms of defensiveness and pride crumble. If we are disappointed, we are free to express it; if frustrated, we can admit it. We must simply and truthfully evaluate, without rationalization, our true spiritual condition. In our vulnerability and transparency, the presence of God draws near to our hearts. Is not intimacy with God the very thing we have neglected? And is not the Lord alone our source of strength in battle? If the enemy can distract us from our time alone with God, he will keep us isolated from the power and help that comes from God to overcome our battles.

What seems like a time of desolation is more truly a time of preparation: A revival of great proportions is coming to our land! The Lord is about to bring to your life a new beginning. When you return to the battle, you shall war from the stronghold of God.

Extracted from "The Stronghold of God" by Francis Frangipane