Exodus 33:14 (NKJV)
And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
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Bible Commentary
Exodus 33:14 is a Bible verse from the Old Testament where God responds to Moses’ concerns about leading His people into the Promised Land. Have you ever felt unplugged, like a fish out of water? It seems there is nothing to cling to. You feel unsafe and unprotected.
We might not realize it, but God is leading those who fear Him on a spiritual journey to the Promised Land–the Kingdom of God. Jesus said in John 14:3, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”
There may be a lot of “spiritual” traveling required to get to where He is, and it is quite a ride. In Exodus 33:14, Moses was in the midst of his own journey, but it was in the natural.
He was in charge of a huge number of people out in the middle of the desert, and they were looking to him for leadership, knowing he had a very close relationship with God. Moses understood the depth of his responsibility and in the verses prior to Exodus 33:14 he had pleaded with God for help, thinking God would provide other people to help him—a leadership team. God’s response?
“My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
Not exactly what Moses had in mind, but he humbly accepted God’s offer when he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us?” (Exodus 33:15-16)
Even though God just told Moses His Presence would go with him, Moses is still pleading for it. Isn’t that exactly how we pray? We pray and ask for things that are already ours, but we don’t have enough faith or confidence to reach out and take them!
Unlocking the Truth – In His Hands
But just like Moses, we feel insecure and unattached so we cling to people and things we can see, instead of clinging to God in faith. Maybe God has uprooted us from the wrong soil so He can plant us in the right soil.
Moses needed to be weaned from his dependence upon people so He would learn to depend upon God. We probably all need that at some point in our walk with Christ. We don’t see or hear loving support from the people around us, so we feel all alone.
We must look beyond the fear and see God our Father, remembering His words in Exodus 33:14, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” We must get to the point where God alone is enough. Let’s look at it as an opportunity to let go of the past, to cut our roots and move forward into what God has for us. He wants to promote us, but as long as we cling to our past, the old roots, we cannot receive that new thing:
the Promised Land.
What He has for us is far better than anything we have experienced before. It is more secure, more exciting, and bigger and better than anything we have imagined. But we must let go and trust Him…
Trust Him with our past. Trust Him with our future. Trust Him with our family. Trust Him with our gifts. Trust Him with our bodies. Trust Him with our money. He gave it all to us for His Name’s sake.
Psalm 106:8 says, “Nevertheless He saved them for His name’s sake, That He might make His mighty power known.”
The question is, do we trust Him to get us safely to the other side. He promises to give us “rest” in Exodus 33:14, which in Hebrew means: rest, settle down, give comfort, and remain.
Whatever He has uprooted us from cannot compare to the riches of His glory in the Promised Land. Let’s trust Him to let go of control, so He can do it.
Deliver us safely, Lord. We’re in Your Hands.
Study the Bible verse of Exodus 33:14 and rest in the Presence of God.
