I Don’t Want the Blessing Without You, Lord

When Moses stood before the burning bush, he wasn’t just looking at a miracle — he was standing in the raw, unfiltered presence of God. The bush burned but wasn’t consumed, and that became the sign of his survival. It’s the same with us. The fact that you’re still here after the fire, still standing after the storm, is evidence that God’s hand has been on you all along.

Moses’ life proves something powerful: you don’t get to lead others through a wilderness unless you’ve walked it yourself. He knew the desert because he had survived it. The palace taught him privilege, but the wilderness taught him God. Almost everything truly valuable you’ll ever know about Him comes in the valley, not on the mountaintop.

By the time we find him in Exodus 33, Moses has already endured betrayal, disappointment, and the frustration of leading a stiff-necked people who turned from God before they even received His law. God tells Moses, “I’ll send an angel with you into the Promised Land, but I won’t go Myself.” For most people, that would have been enough — the blessing, the land, the victory. But not for Moses.

He says, in essence, “Lord, if You’re not going with me, I don’t want to go. Keep the milk and honey. Keep the land. I want You.” Once you’ve truly tasted His presence, nothing else will satisfy. The gifts are good, but they are not the Giver. The blessing is sweet, but it is not the Blesser.

Too many of us chase God’s hand without seeking His face. We want His provision but not His proximity. But Moses understood — glory is greater than grief, greater than victory, greater than anything we could receive. The true believer is not content with angels, miracles, or answered prayers alone; we long for God Himself.

Stuff fades. Even miracles fade in our memory. But His presence stays. It rides with you in the car, walks into the house with you, lies down beside you in the midnight hour. And it changes what you will settle for.

So here’s the question: do you want the promise without the Presence? Or will you, like Moses, refuse to move without Him — even if it means walking away from the very blessing you’ve prayed for?

Because in His presence, there is fullness of joy. At His right hand are pleasures forevermore. And without Him, none of it means a thing.