[A recent study of Moses with shereadstruth.com reminded me of these thoughts at the close of a year-long study of Moses a year ago with Bible Study Fellowship.  It is so good to revisit them and a joy to share them here on the blog!]

Max Lucado says that he runs because he doesn’t like cardiologists.  I run because I like to eat!  Well, the truth is, I run because I like to think… a LOT!  My running days often feel like Moses’ days on the mountain, alone with God.  Free of distractions, my heart and mind can be still enough to listen… and learn!  I burst into His presence with frantic commotion, pouring out my heart filled with concerns and questions, and He steadies me.  He speaks His truth to my heart and I leave His presence different than when I went in.

The other day on my run I found myself trying to decide, out of Moses’ long journey of 120 years, what has impacted me the most?  The early books of the Old Testament include one of the most extensive glimpses into God’s mind and heart… all that He longs to generously and abundantly provide for His people, what He expects from His people in return, and all those arrows pointing forward to His grand plan of redemption… through His beloved Son!

As I pondered various parts of our study, I remembered a quote, comparing the Gospel to a drum cadence… a sure and steady beat that pursues us until it can pulse right through us!  To this day there is nothing like the sound of my high school marching band’s signature drum cadence!  When I hear it, my heart starts beating faster, I feel a surge of pride and confidence and I can NOT be still… it moves me!

The cadence of the gospel is even more powerful!  It will not be silenced.  It is sure.  It steadies us.  It spurs us on.  It brings strength to the weary, hope to the faint.  Sometimes it is the still, small, yet powerful Voice that quiets us with His love.  Sometimes it swells to such a crescendo that we can’t help but burst from the inside, telling His story or springing into bold action as He directs!

The threads of God’s life plan for Moses have felt like that… a sure and steady drum beat, founded in God’s infallible Word, spurred on by His ultimate plan of redemption for His people.  In every situation, God answers with the pulse of His truth:

• A baby marked for death… But GOD
• Raised in a heathen palace… “I am the Lord your God!”
• Running away to the desert… “I will be with you!”
• 40 years of learning, then a burning bush… a life torn apart so it could be set apart! set apart to know the one true God in unique & wondrous ways. “I have called you by name, you are Mine.”
• Tongue-tied and fearful… “I will give you My Words – live by them… teach them!”
• Pharaoh says NO… “I will deliver you! They will know that I am the Lord!”
• A new nation… “I will give you my laws to live by, worship & serve Me only.”
• A redeemed people rebels… “I will help you! Teach them to fear & obey Me.”
• Sin ravages the camp… “Be holy as I am holy! The shedding of blood atones for sin.”
• 40 years of wandering… “My presence will go with you. I will feed you & clothe you… you will know that I am the Lord!”
• Victory at last… “I will give you a vision of the promised land! My promises are true.”
• An earthly assignment ending… “I am the Lord your God! I will be with you!  You will be with Me. Teach the new generation My law, that they may live by it and be set apart by Me, for Me, for only Me!  And then come to your heavenly home, good & faithful servant.”

I remember my brother practicing our high school’s signature cadence… tap tap tapping on anything and everything!  (and leaving indents in our breakfast room table!)  I feel like the study of Moses contains so many principles I need to rehearse and practice.  Keeping God’s Word, His law, always in the forefront of my mind can help me feel that sure and steady beat welling up in me …so I might actually enjoy the practice that makes perfect, that I might leave an indent, an impression of Him everywhere I practice… building spiritual muscle memory so that His qualities are ingrained in me to take over when stress shakes me.  May the heartbeat of His Spirit continue to steady me and renew me when I am not sure what comes next!

So as I wrapped up my run that day, I sensed Him saying to me, “write My truths on your heart, the ones that beat from My heart to yours, and put them on repeat this summer.  Carry that cadence with you always to quiet you enough to rest or to move you enough to act as I lead you.  For I am your God.  I will be with you.  You have been set apart by Me, for Me, for only Me… to know Me in unique and wondrous ways and to point others to my eternal plan of Redemption… my beloved Son, Jesus.”

Read more here! – the early books of the Old Testament: Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy – and specifically, Exodus 20:2 – Isaiah 41:13 – Exodus 3:12 – Isaiah 43:2 – Exodus 33:14 – Exodus 6:6 – Deuteronomy 14:2