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the intentions of our hearts. This may sound like a riddle, but won’t you ponder on it as you
pray today.

Saturday
Reading: Exodus 33 v 12 – 23
The last characteristic of this desire for which I would like to speak about is that this
righteousness should be an ENDURING desire.
I love the thought that this desire for righteousness is not an event but is a process through
which one learns to live on a daily basis. The reason that this is so profound is that there is
always more of God to be experienced. All the aspects of righteousness that we have
mentioned so far are merely the whetting of our appetite. To just deal with sin radically is
not enough. To understand the dangers of power, popularity and possessions (as true as it
is) is still not enough. There is a whole lot more to knowing God than just being aware of
these things. The example that I would like to use today is the example of Moses. Moses’
experience at the burning bush was just enough to whet his appetite, but there must have
surely been more of God than just this. And there was. He saw God’s power being evidenced
through the plagues in Egypt, but even this was not enough, Moses wanted more. He
witnessed God’s greatness at the Red Sea and he was impressed, but that still was not
enough. He experienced the wonder of the majesty of God at Mount Sinai, but even after 40
days on that mountain, Moses still had not experienced enough of God. He stood in wonder
at the splendour of God as seen in the tabernacle that he built, but even in this, Moses was
not satisfied. In Exodus 33 Moses climaxes his cry and epitomises for us the desire to know
God better when he cries in verse 18 “Show me your Glory Lord!” Moses’ whole life had
become a journey of desire to know God better and to experience Him to a greater depth.
I know Moses’ example is an extreme one, but it is not unrealistic. Moses’ desire to know
God better is something that should become our heart’s desire as well; a desire that is not
just exclusive and extreme, but one that is also enduring.
The Christian life is not a sprint as much as it is a marathon. I see many people who burn
themselves out early on and either finish the race badly, or some don’t finish at all. I do not
want at this point to enter into a theological debate on this, but I do believe that people
would be far more sustained in their Christian lives if they grew step by step on a more
consistent basis as opposed to fits and starts. If we could picture the Christian life as a
journey, our growth would be more consistent and would have opportunity to stabilise and
mature along the way. This enduring desire for God has a biblical parallel. Over the course
of the history of mankind, God has progressively revealed Himself to people. Back in Genesis
the revelations that people had of God was that He was Elohim, the Creator, but as human