Ever heard these words? God’s chosen people once did hear these words. ‘Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, or I would consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people’ (Ex 33:3). Yes, it was the same God, who punished the Pharaoh with ten plagues, and led the people through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, and promised to be with them in their journey towards the land of Canaan uttered these words. It took Israelites three months to reach Sinai from where God gave them the commandments. But the people who pledged to obey all the commandments forgot everything within a very short span of forty days. And the first they broke was the first commandment itself.
They had no hesitation to worship the work of their own hands or to ‘run wild, to the derision of their enemies’ (Ex 32:25). God’s wrath did not consume them because Moses stood between Him and the people with his prayer for mercy. An interesting thing here is that though God gave them the permission to proceed and conquer the land, He was not willing to go with them.
It happens today also. God is ready to give us any number of blessings and material benefits in this world. But we forget that He wishes to accompany us also. Do we desire and deserve God’s help in our journey? Are our works such that God would find it pleasant to accompany us?
Of the six hundred thousand Israelites, only one person -Moses- saw the mind of God. He saw something more, that their journey would be futile unless God went with them. They would definitely reach the promised land, conquer the enemies, inherit the land, and live there happily! But that life will never be a blessed one in the absence of God’s presence among them. Realizing the potential risk of travelling without God, Moses implored the Lord and said; ‘If your presence will not go, do not carry us up from here’ (Ex 33:15). Remember that at the time of saying these words, Moses was leading the people through a desert where even the basic necessities of life including water were scarce to find. Yet he realized that a life in the wilderness with God is far better than a life in a land flowing with milk and honey but without God. It is grace!
Unfortunately, we are living in a time where this essential element of grace is becoming harder to find. We go in search of greener pastures where God would not accompany us. We want to build palatial houses and acquire luxury vehicles, where God stands as an outsider. In our folly, we think that the absence of God could be made up with more money. We find nothing wrong in throwing out the life partner whom God has given us and in that process throwing out God also from our heart. When the number of people trying to build Towers of Babel without the help of God, the Psalmist reminds us; ‘Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord guards the city, the guard keeps watch in vain’ (Ps 127:1).
So let us ask at the beginning of every journey whether God would go with us. At the time of taking every decision ask Him whether he would subscribe his signature to our decision. Let us pray that none of us ever hear the ominous words, ‘I will not go with you’ from the Lord. More importantly, we must pray for our leaders also so that they are blessed with the grace to realize that any journey without God will be disastrous.
( www.v-catholic.com)
