The Journey: Failure and Faith
Love and Relationships
Exodus 33:1-3 The Message (Meets with God)
33 1-3 God said to Moses: “Now go. Get on your way from here, you and the people you brought up from the land of Egypt. Head for the land which I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I will send an angel ahead of you and I’ll drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. It’s a land flowing with milk and honey. But I won’t be with you in person—you’re such a stubborn, hard-headed people!—lest I destroy you on the journey.”
The Crisis (
The Consequence (
The mediation (
Exodus 33:4-6 NKJV (Meets with the people)
Exodus 33:7-11 NKJV (Separations between parties & Moses meets with God)
Notice I said mediations rather than intercession.
An intercessor pleads and stands in the gap, praying for the removal of evil or something bad.
A mediator guarantees by facilitating a relationship between two parties to obtain favor, blessings, grace, and goodwill, which is a win-win for both sides.
It is to know someone honestly and to know the person you’re with in more significant and deeper detail.
There was a time at the start of my wife and I’s relationship, just before marriage, when I did not need an intercessor but a mediator, and that person was my mother.
A mediator is needed when things come to an impasse (a point in the relationship where further progress is blocked, usually due to some offense or transgression).
This was the case for me, and my then fiancé needed a mediator to bring us back to the table.
The same was the case with the children of Israel and God, in which Moses was the mediator.
Exodus 33:12-23 New King James Version (God agrees to rejoin the people)
Mediation brings a closeness between you and God, where God will tell you things you do not even quite understand. God tells these things to His friends.
(i.e. Abraham)
A relationship of being a friend can grow perpetually. Relationships that grow in such a manner, you see the two people begin to conform to each other, having the same mindset, speech, and mannerisms.
Romans 8:29 New King James Version
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
Romans 12:2 New King James Version
To be conformed to the world limits you, but to be conformed to the image of His Son causes you to be limitless.
Falling in love is easy, but building a relationship is not. It takes love, but it also takes commitment, trust, honesty, and loyalty.
Commitment is defined as making a promise or agreeing to do something for someone else, as well as being ready to devote your energy and time to work.
Loyalty may be defined as loyal adherence to a promise or faithfulness to someone.
If any of these become lacking, absent, or broken, the relationship is in trouble, not necessarily destroyed or over. Almost any broken thing can be mended.
Stage 1: The euphoric stage - 6 months to 24 months (2 years)
Stage 2: The early attachment stage - 12 months (1 year) to 60 months (5 years)
Stage 3: The crisis stage - 60 months (5 years) to 84 months (7 years)
Stage 4: The deep attachment stage - 84 months
Poem to my Wife
My love, you are my love. Early in the morning, I search for you; my soul thirsts for you, and my flesh longs for you. I have looked for you in our bedroom to see your beauty and glory. My lips will tell the world of your love because your love for me has been better than anything I’ve known. Therefore, I will bless you as I live; my hands will always be with you. My very soul is satisfied with you. It’s like laying back on the couch after eating a premium steak, and I would declare it great. While lying in bed, all I can do is think about you all night because you are a helpmate; all I have become is due to your help. You have always been there, and I believe you always will be. That’s why I love you so much!
Psalms 63:1-8 New King James Version
Deuteronomy 8:11-17 New King James Version
Daniel 11:32 New King James Version