Unveiling

Yesterday. *sigh*

Yesterday was a crap show (and that's putting things mildly).

It started out well. I had my first quiet time with Jesus in weeks (since bringing sweet baby Asher home). I felt God with me and heard His prompting to be more present with my children. I thought about all the sweet, special, rainy-day activities I wanted to do with my kids that afternoon.

The day started with such promise...

And then...attitudes.
And then...arguing.
And then...disrespect.
And then...inconsiderate-ness (a made up word, but a very real thing).

With each jab, I lost more strength and each rebuke was more strongly worded. Every hour I lost more control of my temper.

Finally, I just left to run some errands and sobbed in the Wal-mart parking lot.

Then, after unloading my entire heart on my sweet sister-in-law, I was able to get myself together, run my errands, and go home with a slightly better attitude. Thankfully, the day ended with peace...in my home, but not in my heart.

The mom-guilt hangover after a day like yesterday is NOT insignificant. It clung to me like a wet sweater and nagged at me all through my quiet time. I knew God had something to show me, but I was missing it, and, honestly, I was too emotionally tired to dig that hard.

But then - as is always the case - God met me right where I needed Him.

In my Community Bible Study lesson for the week, we are studying Exodus and ended where Moses meets with God and comes away with his face radiating the glory of God:

As Moses descended from Mount Sinai...

he did not realize that his face shown

as a result of speaking with the Lord.

Exodus 34:29

Isn't that a beautiful picture?! A man's face radiating the glory of God after spending time in His presence?

But then it says:

When Moses finished speaking with [the Israelites],

he put a veil over his face.

But whenever Moses went before the Lord to speak with Him,

he would remove the veil until he came out.

After he came out, he would tell the Israelites what he had been commanded,

and the Israelites would see that Moses' face was radiant.

Then Moses would put the veil over his face again

until he went to speak with the Lord.

Exodus 34:23-35

I'll be honest, I've read this more times than I can count, and I never really put much thought into why Moses was veiling his face. I questioned it, but then moved on. Until today...

Today, my CBS work connected this passage with Paul's second letter to the church at Corinth. He's talking about the difference between the Law of the Old Testament and the gospel of Jesus Christ, and he says:

Therefore, having such a hope, we use great boldness - 

not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the

sons of Israel could not look at the end of what was fading away.

But their minds were closed.

For to this day, at the reading of the old covenant,

the same veil remains; it is not lifted,

because it is set aside only in Christ.

However, to this day, whenever Moses is read,

a veil lies over their hearts,

but whenever a person turns to the Lord,

the veil is removed.

Now the Lord is the Spirit;

and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

We all, with unveiled faces,

are reflecting the glory of the Lord

and are being transformed into the same image

from glory to glory;

this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:12-18 (emphasis added)

Moses veiled his face to cover the fading reflection of God's glory, which he received while he met with Him. He only uncovered his face when the radiance was renewed.

We forget. We forget how gifted we are, through the blood of the lamb, Jesus Christ, to be able to boldly approach the throne of grace and speak to our God whenever we need Him! Moses, on the other hand, had to wait, and the reflection of the glory faded.

But why, then, if I have the Holy Spirit inside me, did I spend most of the day yesterday reflecting anything BUT the radiance of the glory of God?

Because I forgot to turn to the Lord. Instead...

I turned to facebook to tune things out...and put on my veil.
I simmered and seethed and focused on the negative...and put on my veil.
I yelled and pleaded and raged...and put on my veil.

The reality is, even as Christians with unlimited access to God and His Spirit within us, we can veil our faces, blocking others and ourselves from seeing the reflection of His glory.

Yesterday, I lost sight of the person God is trying to turn me into, as I layered veil after veil of distractions over the reflection of His presence.

But what would my day have looked like had I taken the time to turn to the Lord? How much more radiant would my face and countenance had been had I sought the counsel of one who shines light even into the darkest corners? How much different would my day have been?

Here's the thing: we cannot spend time with God first thing in the morning, asking for guidance, direction, and help, and then spend the rest of the day without Him.

You don't go driving into completely unfamiliar territory all day having just glanced briefly at a map first thing in the morning. You take your GPS! You consult that sucker regularly!

Likewise, don't expect to have a successful mission if you're going into the unfamiliar territory of your day having only briefly consulted the one who designed it.

A daily "quiet time" is a great start, the first fruits of the day, but you need the continual sustenance of the bread of the Presence of God to get you through the rest of it.

Where do you put a veil on during your days? What habits, frustrations, and pitfalls cause you to lose sight of the person God is calling you to be as you're transformed into His image?

Today, together, let's make a concerted effort to turn to Jesus, to remove the veil, so we (and those around us) can see the reflection of His glory and be transformed into the Christ-followers He is calling us to be.