The Unaware Witness

He was not aware his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.

Exodus 34:29

The one whom God uses may be the least aware of what God is doing through him. It may appear to him that it is just another day of life, and his routine and obligations are just the normal things, but the Spirit can take any person and do in and through Him remarkable things. A surrendered heart is aware of the glory of God, of the wonder of His calling, of the love of the Savior, and of the joy of fellowship with God, and such a man or woman is not conscious that God is working through them to touch others. He is concerned for others, not for how he might appear to them, except as how he may help them.

The Spirit-filled Christian realizes this as the new norm of his life, to walk in the Spirit day by day, so it seems utterly and completely within the realm of normal for God to be at work in his life and to lead him to care for others. The other extreme is the self-conscious believer, who is always looking for approval from others, for ways he can show how good a Christian he is, or for ways he can impress others. He has little compelling vision of God in his thoughts, rather his life is earth-bound and worldly. He is the type of “Moses” who is always asking, “Is my face shining yet?”

The event above occurred after the second time Moses was given a copy of the Law up on the mountain of God. Some have noticed that the first time he came down the mountain with the Law in his hands, he came as an enforcer of the Law. This time, however, his experience had been richer spiritually, and he descended as a messenger of grace and reconciliation. The first copy of the law was destroyed in Moses’ own anger at the sin of the Israelites in worshiping a golden calf. This time, however, there was the greater realization of the grace of God, of the kindness of God, and of the redemption of God. No people can have hope if all they have are rules and regulations by the Perfect God of Heaven. All people can have hope if they realize the grace and compassion of this Perfect God for sinners, such as us.

Awareness of the grace of God warms our hearts unlike anything else. If we want to be used of God, we should become acquainted with His grace, deepened in the knowledge of our redemption in Christ. That is the profound secret of usefulness — to dwell on the grace of God in Christ.