The Path to Friendship with God: Being Trusted with His Heart

The greatest privilege is to know God and be His friend.  Far above fulfilling any calling, purpose, or achievement, we desire to know Him… to sit in His heart, to be trusted, and to discover how our lives can minister to Him.  We see this same heart cry throughout the Scripture, but perhaps most notably in the life of Moses.

As we study Exodus 33, I invite you to read it slowly with me.  Let the words sink deep into your being, and your heart will begin to overflow with the same longing that Moses had.

“Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the LORD went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp” (Ex. 33:7).  Moses took his tent and placed it outside the camp.  This was not the Tabernacle with the Ark of the Covenant and the altars of sacrifice.  This was Moses’ home.  His home became the meeting place between God and man for an entire nation.

“So it was, whenever Moses went out to the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and each man stood at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle” (Ex. 33:8).  An entire nation watched one man enter the presence of God.

“And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses” (Ex. 33:9).  When Moses went into his house to be with God, the cloud – His manifest presence – descended and stood at the door, creating a secret place for God and Moses.  Jesus instructed us to go into our closet and close the door (Matt. 6:6).  The Greek word closet literally means the innermost chamber of a house, reminiscent of the Holy of Holies and Song of Solomon 1:4: “The king has brought me into his chambers.”  Here, Moses enters into that secret place, the innermost chamber, with God, and God closes the door.

“All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door” (Ex. 33:10).  When the people saw Moses enter the chamber to be with God, it provoked them to worship.  Quiet love for Jesus speaks louder than a thousand sermons.

“So the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend” (Ex. 33:11).  Oh, that we may know Him like that.  That we may be trusted to behold Him face to face and to hear His words.  That we may know His heart and know His secrets that He reveals to only to His friends (Amos 3:7).

“And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle” (Ex. 33:11).  Joshua desired the same encounters that Moses was having with God, and he knew there was only one way to get them – the same way Moses did – by pursuing the face of God and spending time with Him.

“Then Moses said to the LORD, ‘See, You say to me, “Bring up this people.” But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, “I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.” Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people’” (Ex. 33:12-13).  Show me Your way, that I may know You.  His ways lead us into His heart.  Jesus, what do you like, and why?  Knowing Him is the dream, and studying His ways lead us to know Him.

“And He said, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest’” (Ex. 33:14).  As we have seen previously, this word for presence is face.  My face will go with you.  I myself will go with you, and I will give you rest.  There is no rest outside His presence.

“Then he said to Him, ‘If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth’” (Ex. 33:15-16). His presence is what sets us apart.  His presence is the dream.

“So the LORD said to Moses, ‘I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name’” (Ex. 33:17).  The Lord agrees to travel with an entire nation because one man found grace in His sight, because one man walked with God.  Could our cities be transformed, could our nations become habitations for His presence, just because one man or woman walks with God?

“And he said, ‘Please, show me Your glory.’ Then He said, ‘I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.’ But He said, ‘You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.’ And the LORD said, ‘Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen’” (Ex. 33:18-23).

Michael Koulianos, pastor of Jesus Image Church, preached a sermon several years ago called, “He Is Looking for Friends.”  God has always looked for friendship with His people, and throughout history there have been a few – some known, many unknown – who have found friendship with God an honor and pursued it.  Adam and Eve walked with Him in the cool of the day (Gen. 3:8).  Enoch had such a close relationship with his Maker that God took Him home early (Gen. 5:24).  Noah “walked with God” (Gen. 9:6).  Abraham was called “a friend of God” (Jam. 2:23) and David “a man after my own heart” (Acts 13:22 NIV).

What an honor it is to be called God’s friend.  We all want what Moses had – for God to speak with us face to face, to show us His secrets, to give us those encounters that we can’t even talk about because they’re so holy and special.

But it requires being trusted.  It requires pursuing His face, seeking His heart, and living in a way that He trusts us with Himself.  It takes a while for two people who are dating to actually trust each other.  It takes spending time together, little choices, and being there for the other person time and time again in order to prove that I’m here for you, I want to know you, and I will never leave you.

It’s the same way when we build our relationship with the Lord.  The little choices prove our love and build trust – the little choices to turn to Him instead of something else apart from Him.

I want Him to know that I am here.  When others are too busy, I am here to listen and understand.  I desire to know Him.  Others may read about Him for 5 minutes in the morning, but I want to know Him in the written Word.  Others may leave, but I will stay here and love Him.

There is a place in the heart of Jesus for each of us, a place where we were created to live.  How can my life minister to His heart?  Our purpose was never primarily to minister to people; it was first to minister to the heart of Jesus.  When we find our purpose in the heart of God, there we will find our calling and know true joy.