Ps 103:7 NIV
“He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel”
This verse says a lot about the way in which we as people tend to relate and interact with God. The verse seems to suggest that for the majority of the nation of Israel, their relationship with God was about the way in which he acted on their behalf. "He showed his deeds to the people of Israel". For them, God was a god of deeds and action. When they were hungry, it was God who brought them food, when they were thirsty, it was God who brought them water. When they were being pursued by their enemies it was God who brought them deliverance.
But the relationship to God that Moses seemed to experience was more about knowing God personally. "He made known his ways to Moses". For Moses, his was a relationship based on a knowledge of Gods ways. A relationship based on intimacy and encounter. Moses wanted to understand who God was and know His mind and heartbeat. The original Hebrew word in the text is the same word used to describe a journey. The relationship Moses enjoyed with God was that of a journey, and a journey involves discovery. At every turn of the pathway there are new experiences to be had. Each new day is different in its’ own unique way. A journey opens us up to fresh encounters. Moses was interested in coming to intimately know the God of the journey.
This says something to me about the difference between a “Human Being” and a “Human Doing”.
“Human Doings” seem to be always looking for fulfillment in what they do. They get involved in as many pursuits as possible, this ministry, that charity, this project, that assignment. Not that there’s anything wrong with all of our doings, it’s just that all too often there is no end to the number of doings a person has to accomplish. No sooner have you completed this project or that undertaking than there is always another right before you screaming out for completion.
"Being", on the other hand, is more about knowing who we are and who we are not, which inevitably leads us to discovering the far more important truth about who God is. When I take time to remind myself that life is as much about “being” as it is about “doing”, I find that I live life in a greater state of rest. It is in “being” that I discover that life is indeed a "God Journey" for which there are new discoveries to be made each day. Life becomes more about encounter than it does about ministry. Life becomes more about relationship than it does about accomplishment.
And the amazing thing is, that almost always when I slow down long enough to “be” in Gods’ presence, it is there that I discover an empowerment that infuses my “doing” with fresh purpose and direction, and it too then becomes inextricably connected to the journey that in its essential form is ultimately all about knowing and experiencing the person of God himself.
