Face to Face With God: Get Ready for a Life-Changing Encounter with God

by Bill Johnson

We need to pay a price to see more clearly. Moses’s whole life groomed him to see God. His success as Israel’s leader depended entirely on his ability, moment by moment, to perceive and follow the presence and voice of the Lord. But at one point God gave him the opportunity to be successful as Israel’s leader in a different way. He offered to assign an angel to take the people of Israel into the Promised Land. This angel would have made sure that every success came to Moses as God promised.7 But Moses was hungry for God alone, not merely for what God could do to make him successful. He insisted on following the presence of God Himself, saying, “If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here” (Exodus 33:15). Moses was the great leader he was because he was not focused on personal success but on the God who could be known. Moses preferred the wilderness with God to the Promised Land without God, a noble choice for sure.