God is more concerned about our character

When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. ~Exodus 33:22 (NIV)

Moses asked to see God, but seeing God was too awesome for Moses to handle so God had to protect Moses from seeing too much of His glory.  Too much blessing might not always be the best thing for us.  We have to be mature enough to handle the blessing.  Just like we don't give a 2 year old the keys to take out the car, God doesn't give us everything we want until our character is built to a place where we can perpetuate God's blessings.  Building our character is God’s priority and it should be ours as well.  A good test of a mature character is how we treat others and especially how we treat others when we are going through difficult times.  We tend to get snippy and snappy at the least inconvenience when we are going through troubles or when we become overwhelmed by our circumstances, but God expects us to be loving, kind, compassionate and a blessing no matter what we have going on in our lives or how others around us are acting.  When was the last time you blessed someone even though your bank account was foretelling a lean season?  Have you ever sat down with someone hurting and been a source of comfort when your own heart was broken?  One of the toughest things we will ever do is to discipline ourselves to love others and give of ourselves despite our own circumstances, but it is those very things that mature us in Christ and make us strong in spirit.  When we get ourselves off our mind and set our hearts to do God’s business, He sets  His heart to take care of our business. 

God is always more concerned about our character than our comfort because He knows that real comfort is not based on our circumstances.  It is based on our relationship with Him.  Do you know that you can experience peace and joy no matter what is going on in your life if you choose to dwell in what the bible calls “the secret place of the Most High”?   You were born again into that secret place when you accepted Christ as your Savior.  In good times and in bad God hides us in Christ.  He keeps us safe in the cleft of the Rock, where there is provision for all our needs…whether physical, financial, or emotional.  It is the Lord’s desire to pour out His goodness and blessings on us, but we have to be ready to handle what we receive, or it could adversely affect our character.  There is a vast difference between blessed children and spoiled children and that difference is in our ability to appreciate what we have and what we receive.  Do you appreciate everything God has done in your life up until today?  Or is your focus on what hasn't come to pass yet?  Or maybe something that happened that you didn’t want.  If you are facing difficulty right now, remember God has you in “the cleft of the Rock”.  You are in Christ Jesus and God is always caring for you and protecting you as He works on building your character.  Give God your attitude today and trust Him to build the character you need to handle the blessing He is ready to pour out on you as soon as you are ready for it.

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.   I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” ~Psalm 91:1-2 (NIV)

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ~2 Peter 1:3 (NIV)

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