When We All Beg for a God We Can See

“Where is God?” My furrowed-browed, ten-year-old asks with the most humble sincerity.

It’s a simple question, but one the whole world seems to be asking, lately.

Pandemics, split families, food that costs three-times what we were spending, creating deficits in money.

Wars pending…

The lost wandering helplessly, with backpacks of memories that lead to heartbreak and addictions.

“Where is God?”

“Where is God? And why can we not physically see Him?”

For a moment, this sold-out mama who would give anything and everything she could to her precious daughter, stops as if the world is circling…

And closes her eyes to pray for a perfect response…

Because how do you tell a daughter who is looking, a child who wants to see Him, that only false God’s are visible to the naked eye?

But then, I remember the power of Scripture.

I explain Job 33:14 in a way that might resonate with my tender-hearted, little girl.

“Sweetie, God is near…

Job 33:14 (NIV) tells us, ‘For God does speak – Now one way, now another – Though no one perceives it.'”

I tell her how when I am speaking to God, I sometimes see an eagle souring across our pond or over my car. I explain how He is alive in Scripture. And how we can feel Him near, even if we don’t see Him.

She says, “So, God can speak through animals?” 

I answer somewhat hesitantly, hoping to not confuse her, “Yes”. 

Dear one goes on to remind me how she has seen at least a half-dozen deer in just the last few days.

I nod and smile, then explain how God whispers to us; from nature, other people, but especially through Scripture.

She seemed satisfied with that answer.

Our own Gods

It can be so easy to “label” the Israelites as “bad” people. But even the most devoted of us, in the desert, can take what is precious to us and beg for a golden calf…

We can be a “stiff-necked people”, as God describes in Exodus 32.

Why is it we always DEMAND a physical, tangible, touchable presence of a God we can see?

Let’s face it, the world can feel lonely, sometimes.

Still, unless we are looking, God may pass by us in a cloud and we might not even notice…

Still sadly, how many of us take what we possess and toss it to a god we must sing and dance to, just like the Israelites in the desert? (Exodus 32)

As I open Scripture this morning, I fall into Exodus. The story of one man, set a part, different from the desperate crowds who demands a tangible God they can touch.

Moses was a friend of God.

He often stepped into a tent where the Holy of Holies would meet him. And He talked with God, like a friend. God met Moses, face-to-face.

The crowds were and even today, are always restless.

Yet, Moses hid within The Secret Place, longing for simple communion with the One He loved best.

Imagine leading a group of people who rebel with every turn, and demand a tangible expression of a God they can’t see.

Moses intercedes for these people. He asked God to teach him.

He explains to God that his desire is to know Him, and then he asks for mercy for the once enslaved, calf-worshipers of Egypt. (Exodus 33:13)

Do you know anyone wandering in the desert?

Do you know others, or perhaps yourself, who have been clawing and begging for a tangible God, one they can put their faith in, lean and depend on?

And what are the visible-Lords of our culture? Money? Career? Position? Power?

Have you watched the Grammy’s this year? And…

Why is it we would rather have a tangible God who is evil, than a good God who is sovereign and who Himself alone chooses when and how to revealed Himself to His people?

Or could the false-gods we worship be more subtle; like our inability to let go of another toxic human, the power of our reputation, or the hope of something we cling to from our past?

But instead, what if we were Moses, hiding away in the secret place and longing only to meet with God face-to-face? 

When Moses requests of God, God’s response is, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Rest. 

Rest.

Something our culture never gives us. Something other people or possessions, or fleeting promises never leaves us with.

Rest.

The calming assurance of a God who sees us.

Rest.

The gift of knowing and coming into secret communion with The One who knows us, better than anyone else.

My ten-year-old has been hearing someone call her name at night. She is not scared, but doesn’t know who it is.

I can see the God of Angel Armies pursuing her.

And during worship one Sunday, she asks to walk to the alter, and then lifts her hands very sweetly, elbows to her side.

And there, there in that sweet “tent-moment”…

There in the secret place where the world fades away…And all of the promises of people, and hurts of the world dissipates…

A tear falls down her sweet, little cheek.

He sees her. He is near. He is touching her, though there is no physical calf visible….

His presence is without a doubt clear.

We cannot go on without Him.

We dare not move on, or form our own “golden calves” to appease us in our deserts.

Moses answers God, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.” (Exodus 33:16)

I will not move without you, God. 

I see you in the quiet of my tent. I hear you in a still, small voice. I feel you moving, as the wind. Even if I cannot physically touch you, I trust that you are near.

God is here.

He is in each one of our own personal deserts, even if we can’t see Him or explain it.

He lives in the teardrop of my ten-year-old daughter pouring out her heart at the alter. His breath lies in every eagle, or deer walking across my daughters path….

He is present and always speaking…

The question is, are we looking for Him?

Or do we throw all caution to the wind, in fear and impulsion, melting the gifts God’s given us, to create our own golden calves?

God is present. He is always speaking.

Have we met with Him in a quiet place? And have we invited Him near?

 

“Blessed [happy, spiritually secure, and favored by God] are they who did not see [Me] and yet believed [in Me].” ~ John 20:29