“On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt – on that very day – they came to the Desert of Sinai. After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain” (Exodus 19:1-2). It was the one thing God wanted all along – a meeting. It is the same today – God wants a meeting with us. Hard to believe isn’t it, not only does God want to talk with us, but He also wants to meet with us!
Most of us are familiar with the Exodus story, so familiar that we reduce the narrative down to this – God wanted the Israelites free so He could bring them into the promised land. Yet, if we read God’s Words to Moses in Exodus 3:12 at the burning bush we find, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, youwill worship God on this mountain.” When Moses reached Egypt, in at least eight of his conversations with Pharoah, Moses asked Pharoah to let God’s people go, saying God wanted His people to go into the wilderness to worship Him.
You see, the promised land was simply a bonus blessing. God really wanted to free the Israelites and bring them to Him. He wanted to meet with them. He wanted them to have an encounter with Him. It is exactly what God wants to happen in our lives – an encounter with Him that captures our hearts for Him and radically shifts our lives for His purposes. Yes, He had incredible plans for us, promises He wants to manifest in our lives, but first and foremost, God wants a life-changing meeting with us!
Our 40-day period of fasting and prayer was designed to position our hearts to have a genuine encounter with Him, just like the people of Israel experienced when they finally reached Sinai. Where are you right now? May each of us be always ready to meet God with mature hearts that understand how God carried us to the point of a divine encounter with Him.