The Ways And Acts Of God

Psalm 103:7
He made known His ways to Moses,
His acts to the children of Israel.

There is a great difference between the ways of God and the acts of God.

The ways of God are about His character and nature. The acts of God are about His doings and miracles. Moses knew the ways of God, but the Israelites knew His acts.

Moses knew God and how He worked. But the people of God only knew His works and what He did. They didn't know their God. They just knew about His works and acts! They didn't know how God worked and why He did what He did!

Moses had a personal and close relationship with God. But the people of God didn't have that!

The Israelites only remembered how the LORD delivered them from slavery in Egypt through many signs, wonders and miracles. They saw the awesome power of God as He inflicted the 10 plagues upon the Egyptians. They remembered how God had brought them through the 40 years into the Promised Land.

The LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. The LORD was with them throughout the whole journey, providing every need and protecting them from many dangers and harms.

The Israelites had seen with their own eyes the great signs, wonders and miracles that the LORD had done for them. However the LORD had not given them hearts that would understand or eyes that would see or ears that would hear! For 40 years, the LORD has led them through the wilderness, yet their clothes had not become old, and their shoes had not worn out! But amazingly, they did not know their God even though He was with them throughout the 40 years! Even though He cared for them and loved them!

Deuteronomy 29:2-6
2 Now Moses called all Israel and said to them: “You have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land—
3 the great trials which your eyes have seen, the signs, and those great wonders.
4 Yet the LORD has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day.
5 And I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet.
6 You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or similar drink, that you may know that I am the LORD your God.

They didn't know their God! The best way to explain this unusual behavior of the Israelites is to go back to Mount Sinai where God met all of His people for the first time.

The Israelites had arrived at Mount Sinai in Exodus 19. The LORD told Moses to prepare the people so that He would come down from the mountain to meet them personally on the third day.

On the morning of the third day of their encampment at Mount Sinai, Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God. And they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire.

God spoke the words of His covenant to all of His people in Exodus 20, and everyone heard the Ten Commandments as He gave to them! But the people didn't want to hear more from God! They were afraid to hear the voice of God!

When all the people saw the lightnings and the smoke billowing from the mountain, and heard the thunders and the long, frightening trumpet blast; they stood at a distance, shaking with fear.

They said to Moses, “You tell us what God says and we will obey, but don’t let God speak directly to us, or else we will die.”

“Don’t be afraid,” Moses told them, “for God has come in this way to show you His awesome power, so that from now on you will fear Him and you will be afraid of sinning against Him!”

As the people stood in the distance, Moses entered into the deep darkness where God was. Thus Moses became their spokesman. The Israelites met God and were witnesses of what happened on Mount Sinai as the LORD spoke to them. But they simply didn't desire to know Him!

Exodus 20:18-22
18 Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off.
19 Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”
20 And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.”
21 So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.
22 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘You have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.

The people of God were afraid of the presence of God. As they didn't know Him, He became an Unknown God to them. Thus they responded in the fear of the unknown, which was nothing more than a mental block and man-made obstacle. But Moses knew the divine nature and character of God, and was not afraid of His presence. Moses drew closer to the LORD while the people drew away from Him.

One of the prayers of Moses was asking the LORD to teach him His ways so he might know Him more and continue to find grace and favor with Him.

Exodus 33:13
Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.

Very often, we are like the children of Israel who were just contented with the blessings, miracles and workings of God but failed to acquire a good and faithful relationship with Him. We have often treasured other things instead of God! We have worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator.

Many of us are only interested in what God would do for us. As we pursue after dreams, visions, manifestations, revivals, encounters and experiences, our focus is always and mainly about us and not about Him. How we feel and what we will get. What really attracts and excites us? What are our secret ambitions and treasures in our hearts?

When we strip off all things and stand before God, will we be able to find God in us? Will we be able to say we know Jesus and He knows us? Will we remain wholeheartedly devoted to Him? Are we His friends whom He can entrust us with some of His eternal purposes as we listen to His heart?

What are our preferences when God wants to have a conversation with us? To remain with the crowds busy doing things or to be alone with Him doing nothing? Moses was in the wilderness with God, fellowshipping and communing with Him. Seemingly, Moses was doing nothing. But God made known His ways to Moses, and spoke with him face to face like a man speaking to his friend.

Exodus 33:11
So the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.

The sad truth is that the people of God today are not much different from the ancient Israelites. When things are fine and comfortable, we forget about God. But when things are not right and painful, we remember Him and begin to pray like never before. We then make a lot of false promises and vows to Him.

When our needs are met and life gets back to normal, we simply adopt this ungodly attitude of neglecting and ignoring God again. Instead of we becoming the servants of God doing what He says, God becomes our servant doing what we say. Instead of Your will be done, we pray that our wills be done!

Knowing God is a lifetime commitment! It does not come through the experiences and encounters of others! It does not come through books, CDs and DVDs. Many of the men and women of God have seen and known God through their life journeys in the wilderness. But most of us would only read about their accounts in their writings and journals.

We don't like to have any wilderness experience. Like going to a safari in Africa, we would choose to have luxurious accommodations with comfortable beds and pillows, and all the modern gadgets and amenities such as Wi-Fi and televisions instead of roughing it out in the wilderness. We choose the easy way out. And we miss the better portion and the real adventure!

To be a true disciple of Jesus is never an easy and comfortable journey. We need to take up our cross and follow Him.

Matthew 16:24-26
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

The apostle Paul knew this truth as he counted all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ. He had given up everything else. He had found what it meant to really know Christ and to experience the mighty power that brought Him back to life again, and to discover what it meant to suffer and to die with Him.

Philippians 3:7-11
7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.
8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ
9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;
10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,
11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Do we know Christ? Do we know His ways? Or do we just know His acts or works? And do we have eternal life?

John 17:3
And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

Yes, this is the way to have eternal life. By knowing the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom He has sent to us!

May we know Him more and more each day! As we do so, we will know more about His divine nature and character. We will also begin to know and appreciate His ways as His ways are always higher than our ways!

Written on: 21 June 2018