There is an exchange in Exodus 19 where the Lord calls 80-year-old Moses to climb up and down a mountain several times. Moses never questions, he simply obeys. God’s response (Ex. 20) is one of the most pivotal moments recorded in biblical history.
Sometimes I selfishly want the big episode without the long climb. I want the proverbial Ten Commandment moment without jumping through hoops to get there. When I am thinking carnally, I see hoop jumping as inconvenient or uncomfortable. I want what I want, and I want it now. When I am thinking spiritually, I see hoop jumping as training, and I embrace it as an athlete preparing for a race.
Moses understood that relationship with God was about connection (I am yours) and not manipulation (I do what you ask, and you do what I want). In fact, my favorite time period in Moses’ life to study is the 40 years he spent waiting in Midian. He spent his first 40 years as Pharaoh’s son, training to be a big deal in the eyes of the world. He spent his last 40 years as God’s instrument, leading and living as a “big deal” in the Lord’s story. The 40 years in between those two seasons were spent redefining what “big deal” really meant.
When we find ourselves in the Lord’s waiting room or walking up a mountain for the third time, we can be sure he’s redefining something in us we had all wrong. He doesn’t waste a moment of our lives, even when we feel like we are waiting around for life to start.
Beth Guckenberger is the author of Start with Amen: How I Learned to Surrender by Keeping the End in Mind. She and her husband Todd serve as co-executive directors of Back2Back Ministries. Adapted from Start With Amen: How I Learned to Surrender by Keeping the End in Mind© Beth Guckenberger (W Publishing Group), used by permission.
