Lord, Show Me Your Ways
Exodus 33:12-23
Yesterday, as I reflected on Exodus 33:1-11, I was challenged by a simple question: Do I desire God Himself, or only the blessings He gives? Today’s passage takes that thought one step deeper. If I truly desire God, then I should also desire to know Him, understand His ways, and allow His presence to guide the way I live.
Moses is having a remarkably open conversation with God. He reminds God that He had asked him to lead the people, yet Moses still does not fully understand how everything will unfold. Then he makes a beautiful request:
“Please show me now your ways, that I may know you.”
– Exodus 33:13 ESV
Moses did not simply ask God, “What are You going to do for me?” He asked, “Show me Your ways, that I may know You.”
That caught my attention.
I Want to Know Your Ways
There is a difference between wanting God’s answers and wanting to know God’s ways.
Many times, when I come to God, my questions are about my circumstances. I want to know what will happen, which way I should go, or how a particular situation will be resolved.
But Moses asks God to show him His ways so that he may know Him.
Knowing God’s ways means learning how God works, what He values, what He desires, and how He wants His people to walk before Him.
This is something I also need to remember when I read the Bible.
I should not read Scripture merely to collect information or find a verse for a particular situation. I want to know the God who has revealed Himself through His Word.
The more I learn His Word, the more I begin to understand His character, His holiness, His mercy, His faithfulness, His purposes, and His heart.
Your Presence Must Lead Me
God responds to Moses:
“My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
– Exodus 33:14 ESV
Moses then gives one of the strongest statements in the passage:
“If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.”
– Exodus 33:15 ESV
Moses did not want to move forward simply because there was a destination ahead.
He wanted God’s presence to lead them.
This challenges me in a practical way.
It is possible to ask God to bless a direction that I have already chosen. But Moses’ prayer is different: “If You are not going with us, don’t let us go.”
That is dependence.
I need to learn not only to ask, “Lord, bless what I am doing,” but also, “Lord, teach me Your ways so that I may know how to walk.”
Knowing God Should Change the Way I Walk
Paul gives us a similar picture in the New Testament.
He prays that believers would be:
“filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.”
– Colossians 1:9-10 ESV
This is important.
Biblical knowledge is not supposed to remain only in our minds. Knowing God’s will should shape the way we walk.
The purpose of learning Scripture is not simply to become someone who knows more Bible verses. It is to become someone whose life is increasingly shaped by what God has revealed.
The Word teaches me who God is. Knowing God shapes my heart. A changed heart changes the way I live.
“That I May Know Him”
Paul expresses this desire personally:
“that I may know him and the power of his resurrection…”
– Philippians 3:10 ESV
Paul had already spent years following Christ. He had preached, suffered, served, and experienced God’s work in extraordinary ways. Yet he still said: “that I may know him.”
That reminds me that knowing God is not something I finish. There should always be a growing desire to know Him more deeply.
Jesus Himself said:
“And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
– John 17:3 ESV
Knowing God is not a side topic in the Christian life. It is at the very heart of it.
“Please Show Me Your Glory”
Moses then asks:
“Please show me your glory.”
– Exodus 33:18 ESV
Moses had already experienced so much of God. Yet he wanted to know Him more.
God tells Moses that he cannot see His full face, but He will allow His goodness to pass before him and proclaim His name.
There is something very humbling here.
Moses could know God truly, but he could not comprehend God’s fullness. Even in intimacy, there was reverence.
This also reminds me that when I ask God to reveal Himself to me, I should come with humility. I am not asking God to satisfy my curiosity. I am asking Him to help me understand what He has chosen to reveal.
And today, we have God’s written Word and the fullest revelation of God in Jesus Christ.
John says:
“We have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father…”
– John 1:14 ESV
And Paul speaks of:
“the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
– 2 Corinthians 4:6 ESV
Moses longed to see God’s glory. We too should have that hunger to know God more deeply, and we see God’s glory supremely revealed in Christ.
As I Know God’s Heart, My Heart Should Change
There is one more thought that has been coming to my mind from this passage.
If I genuinely want to know God, I need to learn His Word.
And as I learn His Word, I begin to understand His heart.
I begin to see what He loves and what He hates. I see His holiness and His mercy. I see His patience with people, His concern for the broken, His call to repentance, and His love for those who are far from Him.
Then God’s concerns should increasingly become my concerns.
This includes His heart for people who are lost.
We should be careful not to say that everyone who enters ministry necessarily does so because they have perfectly understood God’s love. Our motives can be mixed, and God continues to shape us.
But there is a biblical principle here:
The more we know God, the more His heart should shape our own.
That is why I want to keep learning His Word.
Not merely so that I can explain the Bible to someone else. Not merely so that I can prepare a sermon. Not merely so that I can know more theology.
But so that I may know Him.
Lord, I want to know You more.
Like Moses, teach me Your ways so that I may know You. Help me not to be satisfied with simply knowing about You. Give me a deeper desire to understand Your Word, Your character, Your will, and Your heart.
As I read Scripture, open my understanding. Help me to see what You have revealed and to understand it faithfully. Keep me from reading Your Word merely for information. Let Your Word examine me, correct me, shape me, and teach me how to walk.
Lord, lead me by Your presence. If I am going in the wrong direction, stop me. If I am following my own plans, correct me. Teach me to desire Your ways more than my own.
And as I know Your heart more deeply, let my heart also be changed. Help me to care about what You care about and to see people through Your eyes. Give me a genuine concern for those who are far from You.
Most of all, help me to know Christ more deeply. Thank You that Your glory has been revealed to us in Jesus Christ. May my life increasingly reflect what I am learning about You.
Lord, show me Your ways, that I may know You.
Amen.
Hineni