“The Radiance From Being In The Presence Of The Lord!”

“The Radiance From Being In The Presence Of The Lord!”(Ex.34:28-35).
After havng been on the mountaintop with the Lord for forty days, Moses came down with the two tablets of the Ten Commandments. Unknown to him, his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord. The people saw the radiance of his face and were afraid to come near him.
Moses called them, spoke to them and gave them the commands he had received on the mountain.
Moses made it a habit to put on a veil and removed it only whenever he entered the Lord’s presence. Each time he came out from the Lord’s presence his face was radiant. And when he had spoken to the people, he put on the veil.
Have you ever remarked to somebody like,“The way your face is shining shows that life is good.”? Has somebody ever told you,“Your face shows that things are fine.”?
“Kinesics is an interesting field of study on body language. Kinesics “study body movements and gestures as a form of non-verbal communication.”
It is becoming commonplace that to read someone’s mind, look into their eyes. It is also easy to read a person’s emotions from his/her face. Emotions like sadness or happiness can be recognized through a person’s face.
The radiance on Moses’ face caused the people to have reverential fear for Moses such that they could continue to honour him as the Lord’s representative. This radiance lasted only as soon as he came out from the presence of the Lord. With time it faded away. The people would not have continued to honour Moses at the moment the radiance had faded away.
Moses put on a veil, not to cover the radiance, but to cover the fading radiance.
It is the same with all of us. When we have just been in the presence of the Lord, there is a radiance on our faces that attracts and commands the respect of the people. But when we stay away from the Lord’s presence the radiance fades away. We now put on the veil (mask) of camouflage so that it shouldn’t be known that the radiance is fading.
Therefore, it is important to constantly go in to speak to the Lord so that the radiance remains on our faces! Daily communication with the Lord through prayer and the study of his word will maintain our radiance so that we do not need to hide our faces in masks of hypocrisy.
Prayer: Holy Spirit help me to maintain a radiant face by constantly being in the presence of the Lord. Amen!
Have a blessed day! Peace be with you!
Rev Babila Fochang.