choosing to pitch tents ...

it's been nearly 6 months since i've posted here. i've had blog ideas that i never sat down to write and are now long forgotten. that makes this blog that much more appropriate. i resolved to write more this year ... to pitch more tents in my life ... will you?

exodus 33: 7-11

v. 7 now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp.

pitching a tent is not easy work. i’ve done it once. it was in the heat of summer and not the most fun experience, but at least there was tree cover and with the help of today’s technological advances. just imagine how much more difficult it would have been back then, on dry, unforgiving desert ground, exposed to all the elements. but every time they stopped, instead of simply using one of the tents that was already part of camp, Moses would take the effort to pitch a tent for the sole purpose of meeting with God, away from the chaos of camp. and not just on the outskirts of camp, but 'some distance away'. so if people wanted to inquire of the Lord, they had to make the effort to do so. 

i know that today, because of Christ, the opportunity to meet with God is available to us anytime and anywhere (hebrews 4: 14,16). modern technology makes it easier than ever, but also easier to take for granted ... and to get distracted. this verse highlights the importance of making a concerted effort to meet with Him. i was recently reminded of this when watching The War Room. He is as close as our next breath, but will we make space just for Him apart from the chaos of our daily life? when the ground of our hearts is dry and hard, will we put in the time and energy required to truly encounter Him?

the passage goes on to say that “whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents … while the Lord spoke with Moses … they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent. the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.” it doesn’t say what happened when someone else would go out to the tent of meeting but i imagine they would bring their issue to Moses, and he would bring it before the Lord. 

i’m so grateful that we don’t have to stand outside the ‘tent of meeting’ while someone intercedes on our behalf, or worship at a distance while someone else gets to interact with God as a friend. just like Abraham, if we act on what we believe, we too can be considered friends of God (james 2:22-23), and experience the intimacy that comes along with that. 

the same opportunity is there for everyone. will you make the investment and take advantage of it?

(http://www.ucl.ac.uk/slade/fairclough/archive-2/pitchatent)