Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.” (Exodus 24:12, NKJV)
One of the most difficult tests in golf is a U.S.G.A Open Championship. Each round feels like an uphill climb, and physical, mental and emotional fatigue weighs heavy at the end of each day. To win, one must stay fully present one shot at a time.
It’s been several years since I played the Women’s Open, but in a few days I will have my third opportunity at another meaningful challenge: climbing one of the peaks in the Sinai where Moses may have walked. Although the 5- to 6-hour hike will wind along a well-worn path, I anticipate being distracted as I help 46 others in our group reach the top. I also know I will feel exhausted.
I wonder if Moses felt physical, mental, and emotional fatigue when he trekked up Mount Sinai? He most likely had no path to follow and it wasn’t a one-time event. When the Lord called Moses up the mountain in Exodus 24:12, it was for at least the fifth time.
In today’s passage, the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and be there.” The Hebrew root form for “be there” is haya and means simply “to be.” God knew the possibility that Moses could be distracted by his physical needs and questions when he reached the top, so he reminds Moses to be fully present to receive the law and the commandments that he would teach to the Israelites.
Like Moses, we too find reasons that cause us to struggle with being fully present in our personal relationships with God and others. Often our lives are moving so fast that our attention is divided at any one moment. I know I am guilty of being in the middle of a conversation and not really being there to offer my heart for connection.
Another challenge we all have the ability to meet is not allowing our cell phones to cause a distraction. Email, texting, Facebook, and Twitter are wonderful ways to stay connected; however, when we choose the message beeping on our phone over the person we are with, we are not fully present.
When we are divided in our conversations and distracted by our cell phones, we damage our relationships without realizing it. Relationships deepen when we enter into authentic conversation with each other. Being fully present in our relationship with God and others requires us to choose to be there in the moment. As we do this, our capacity to love grows, leading us into deep and richer relationships.
A few ways to practice being fully present are:
– Step away from the TV or the computer and face the person engaging you in conversation
– While out to dinner, leave cell phones in the car
– Take time to walk and talk with God, enjoying him and the sounds of his creation
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Tracy Hanson
Copyright © 2012 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday through Friday at www.linksplayers.com.