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Who He Is or What He Gives

Aug 29, 2022

In Exodus 33, Moses is presented with a pretty unique offer. God promises Moses to give the nation of Israel  all the things He has promised.

God says, go and inherit the Promised Land…he’ll take care of everything. He’ll defeat their enemies; he’ll guarantee a land that is plentiful; he guide them out of the desert; he’ll establish them as a new nation, in a new land with a new start. It seems like a pretty incredible deal!

There is only one catch: Exodus 33:3-“But I will not go with you.” 

God is convinced that the people of Israel love him for what He gives, and not who He is. They base their relationship on the results God offers, rather than the relationship He desires. So He finally says, “Fine, you can have everything I’ve promised to give you; you just can’t have Me.”

I am more like the Israelites than I care to admit. I too often care more about the blessings of God than I do intimacy with God. I get so focused on what God can give me more than I do on who God is. There is always a cost to living this way. I want to share with you three ways I can tell when I value what He gives, over who He is:

1. My Heart Is Discontent

  • I’ve been discontent with God’s timing and He hasn’t shown up when I think he should…so I’ve moved forward without Him
  • I’ve been discontent with God’s provision so I’ve gone into debt to buy something that I couldn’t afford
  • I’ve been discontent with my position or my influence so I’ve used or abused a relationship to get recognition, to feel more important or get something I thought I deserved
  • I’ve been discontent with my life so I compare my stuff; my wife; my kids; my house; my job; my car to someone else that appears to have a better life than me.

When I am discontent, I play the comparison game and I say to God, “I value what you give me so much more than I value you.”

2.    My faith is circumstantial.

I feel great about my relationship with God when my job is going well, when things at home are running smooth, when I’m not sick physically, when the bills are being paid and I have a little left over, when my relationships are deep and fulfilling. But if you mess with any of those and my faith wavers…how does that happen? That happens when I value what He gives more than who He is.  My faith becomes circumstantial. As long as the circumstances of my life are good, I think God and I are good.

3. I focus more on what I accomplish than who I am becoming.

So often in my life I am content to say, “God, I’ll take the Promised Land; I’ll be happy to get out of the desert, with our without you. I’ll take success no matter the cost. I’ll take the results you provide rather than the relationship you are offering.

I want to love God simply for who He is. If He never gave me one more thing in this life, I want Him to be enough. I know I have a long way to go to live that out every day.

What about you? Do you struggle with loving God for what He gives and not for just who He is?