The Great Cover Up
I attended a seminar with my small group titled "The Great Cover Up" by Pastor Stephen Chandler.
The majority of the seminar was based on Exodus 34:29-35:
"29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever he entered the Lord’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord."Pastor Stephen spoke how when Moses came down the mountain, he covered up the goodness of God by putting a veil on his face. Why did Moses need the veil? I never thought about it before, but Pastor Stephen mentioned that the veil covered God's glory. The people already saw that Moses' face was radiant. So it wasn't because people couldn't look at his radiant face. Then why did Moses put a veil over his face? He didn't want people to see the glory diminishing from his face day after day, and week after week. I thought this was an interesting point. Sometimes, we too, cover up because we don't want people to see us not be perfect, but we reflect, not project. We reflect the grace of God. Even in our imperfections, we point others to God, and our goal is to glorify God. "When you are not concerned about people's opinions - that's when you can encourage others that he too can use them." A final point that Pastor Stephen made was that Moses didn't have the Holy Spirit in his life, which is why his radiance continue to diminish. However, we have the Holy Spirit living in us and the Holy Spirit fills us every day.
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By failing to share what God has done in my life or even leaving out parts of my testimony, I realized that I too, can cover up God's glory in my life.
And sooo I felt really convicted to share my prom story (the full story). Even though prom was awkward (because I was awkward, haha) and I feel really bad about it because I was such a bad date, through it all, I saw how God really cares about me and even the details of my life. Throughout senior year, I was not really planning on going to prom. But then one by one, my friends decided to go (with a date) and then kept asking me if I was going to go. Although, while looking back, I wish I just went with my girlfriends (or even by myself), I didn't want to go to prom without a date if all my friends had dates. I clearly remember writing in my journal with like one month left of school - just as thoughts, not particularly as a "this is my prayer to God" but just me, laying down my thoughts before God. I had 3 things I wanted. 1) I wanted the guy to pay for my ticket 2) I wanted roses 3) I wanted to go to prom without "strings attached". What does this even mean? From observing people, I saw that a lot of couples started dating before or after prom. And I thought it was all just meaningless because they would break up right after graduation or right before college (also I promised God I wouldn't date in high school). I didn't want to lead anyone on or have this lead to anything so I wanted to go to prom without "strings attached."
I remember having a feeling one morning that something was going to happen that day, but I didn't really know what. Then a guy, out of nowhere, asked me if I wanted to go to prom and gave me a bouquet of roses (they were pretty nice, haha). He offered to pay for my ticket, but my parents said no. And I really went without any "strings attached" because I didn't really talk to him again after prom. Because we weren't really good friends beforehand, prom was so awkward. I didn't know what prom etiquettes were. My parents didn't know what prom was and as a firstborn, it was all a learning experience for me. I don't really like to talk about it because it was so embarrassing, but through it all, I saw God's love for me. Even though He knew how everything would turn out, He still answered the desires of my heart because He cared.
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I also recently listened to this message titled "Prayer as a Way of Walking in Love" by Francis Chan. While listening to how God answered his prayers, I was also reminded by all the ways God answered my prayers throughout my life. It also challenged me to keep praying.
In our church's "Rooted Part I" video, I remember we asked the missionaries if they could go back, what would be the one thing they would change. I remember M. Rebekah and Luke both said - "pray more." I don't know why but it really stuck with me. If people who are in their 60s, nearing 70s wish they could have prayed more, it must be really important. How often do I go about my day, not asking God to be with me? How often do I go about my day not even thinking about him because I'm running from one thing to the next? Why do I think I can do more without asking for His help? Instead of getting more done, I end up being burnt out, exhausted, and tired. Even though this semester will be really busy. I can already see it, haha. I want to intentionally make time in the morning to really lay down all things before God - and to just spend that time with Him. Because it's the best place to be! Also this school year, I want to pray for God to move in our youth group - and I hope to esp. pray for my class.
