Stay: Exodus 33:7, 11

Excerpt from Soul Cries Devotional
copyright Regan 2012

Exodus 33:7, 11 (The Message)

Moses used to take the Tent and set it up outside the camp, some distance away. He called it the Tent of Meeting. Anyone who sought God would go to the Tent of Meeting outside the camp…And God spoke with Moses face-to-face, as neighbors speak to one another. When he would return to the camp, his attendant, the young man Joshua, stayed—he didn't leave the Tent.

To me, every sentence in this passage unfolds as more spectacular than the one before it. Moses set up a tent where people could meet with the manifest Presence of God. Anyone who sought God could go to the tent and meet with Him, and they could abide there with the manifest Presence of God. They could inquire of God for answers, ask for revelations, and pray for provision. Or, they could just abide there, without talking, just being with their Creator. The tent was a place to be, meet, and abide with God.

The scripture says that there in the tent, Moses would actually go and meet face to face with God, as friends and neighbors speak to each other. Just as you might go get coffee with a friend, Moses went and visited with God Almighty. Amazing, and when Moses was finished and went home, what did Joshua do? He stayed. He didn’t leave the tent.

We are invited to meet with God face to face, to abide with Him, to be in intimate relationship with the Lord. May we have the heart of Moses, running after God until we see Him face to face. May we have the passion and love of Joshua, staying, when even Moses has gone home. May we have the heart to stay in the Presence of the loving God, never leaving.

1. This scripture says that whoever wanted to seek the Lord was invited to the tent. In what ways do you want to seek Him? Do you have needs on your heart—prayers for your child and your household? Present them before Him today.

2. I pray for your heart. May you and your children have such love and passion for God, that you find yourself staying at the tent when everyone else has gone home, never leaving, abiding forever in His Presence.