Exodus 34:28 So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.
After 40 days and 40 nights, with no bread and no water, Moses came down from the mountain with the tablets in hand. Now, keep in mind this is the second time Moses spent 40 days and 40 nights on the mount receiving the law from God. In scripture, 40 is the number of testing and just like old Moses on top of the mount with no food or water, God sometimes takes us into a prolonged time of testing. And when He does, we can rest assured that God will sustain us through it. God meets the needs of those who are His. In regards to every need of life, Jesus repeatedly taught that we have no reason to worry and again, God brought us in our study of Exodus 34 a reminder to us that when we give our whole lives to God, He will sustain us. I think it’s something He wants us to know. Perhaps some of us are in a period of prolonged testing and sometimes when we are in that testing we forget that God is with us and we feel alone.
Psalm 3:5 I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.
There are some steps you can take when you are in a period of testing that will remind you that God will sustain you.
Read the Bible and pray … Read through the Psalms or read through what Jesus taught on God’s love and God’s sustaining power. Often we forget to do this and begin to feel alone or adrift when in testing. With most mobile phones today being smart phones and the internet so readily available, there really is no excuse for not reading scripture when you feel alone. Of course, you don’t have to have a phone or the internet to pray.
Worship … When you feel alone in testing, worship God … with or without music, you can worship. The Bible says that God inhabits the praises of His people and so when you worship, God draws near.
Tell others … Let other brothers or sisters in Christ know so that they can encourage you and pray for you. The Bible says the fervent prayers of a righteous man avails much … And Galatians tells us to bear one another’s burdens and in doing so we fulfill the law of Christ. In other words, we are to help one another and pray for one another and God blesses that.
Testify of God’s goodness … Finally, when the testing is over and God has shown Himself faithful to sustain you through it and refine you in it, let His light shine from you as a testimony of His goodness.
Exodus 34:29 Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses’ hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him.
As a result of the time that Moses spent with God, his face shown brightly. You may not realize it but when you spend time with the Lord, your countenance brightens, too. And such a bright testimony of God will cause some to leave, after all, the glory of God reflected in our lives can be convicting to others. Bright lights always cause darkness to shrink away. Others, though, will desire the kind of relationship with God that will brighten their countenance, so it’s a wonderful opportunity for you to share your testimony of God’s goodness.
Leave a Reply