“Hello? Are you there? Hello? Hello? Sorry, I think I hit a dead spot where there’s no reception. I’ll call you back in a few minutes. I hope you heard me!”
Does this sound familiar to you? When I think about the evolution of telephones in the last five decades, we’ve come a long way! In my single digit years, we had two phones in our house, both of which were hardwired to the wall with very long spiral cords and rotary dials. At that time, we didn’t have reception problems; no one had ever heard of signal strength in relation to phones. When the phone rang, we scrambled to answer it before the caller hung up. The only time I remember having connection problems was with international calls, as distance could be challenging.
When I think about how we can use phones to connect with people, it’s interesting to consider how many different ways we can make such connections: facetime, texting, zoom, calling, emailing, social media, etc. Despite all of the mediums we use to connect with people, I contend that nothing replaces face-to-face engagement. I believe this to be true with God as well.
We can connect with God in a variety of ways, such as: Bible studies, worship services, prayer groups, missions’ outreaches, social media posts, subscribing to podcasts and sermon series, reading books and lots more. While all of these methods and opportunities can be helpful in being around God, I would suggest that connecting with Him face-to-face is the ultimate interface. To this end, one of my all-time favorite Bible verses is Exodus 33:11a: “Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend.”
So what could it look like to have face-to-face interaction with God? For starters, I think it’s important to prioritize solitude. I say this because Moses pitched a tent well outside the Israelite camp boundaries, and he would meet with God. Consider Exodus 33:7a, which says, “Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, a good distance from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting.” Moses left the people so he could have some one-on-one time with God.
Additionally, it’s important to have authentic dialogue with God, devoid of platitudes or deception. This observation comes from Exodus 33:12-13 when Moses expresses his need for someone to travel with him as he leads the Israelites through the wilderness. In the midst of this conversation, Moses tells God that he wants to not only know His ways, but most of all, Moses wants to know God. I bring this to your observation because I’m firmly convinced that religion is knowing about God, but relationship prioritizes knowing God, not just His ways or methods.
When I think about connecting with God and looking at how Moses valued his one-on-one time with Him, I’m encouraged to see that God also wanted to have connection with Moses. Indeed, God spoke with Moses “as a man speaks to his friend.”
Let’s keep our personal intimacy with God our highest priority!
