“My Sweet Lord”
“The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend…And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name. (Exodus 33:11, 17)”
After years of giving and receiving spiritual direction, it has become clear to me that most people’s image of God is initially a compilation of the people in their lives. If our parents and teachers were cold and withdrawn, we will assume that God is cold and withdrawn too. No conscious person wants to believe in a God like that. For example, if you believe that God is judgmental you will act like he’s judgmental: You will then spend much of your life submitting to a judgmental God, or angrily reacting against it. You may have realized that when a person is judgmental they are also punitive?
Most childhood conditioning leaves a person with empty limited religious concepts of God. Meanwhile, Jesus and all of the enlightened masters came to invite us into an infinite and eternal flow of authentic love. Without an inner experience of God, much of religion is largely childhood conditioning; it is often childish and fear based. As Sri Bhagavan says, “[With God] you can be very free because you are not judged.” A problem arises when you believe that the divine is a harsh tyrant who strikes you down if you are authentic. As spiritual seekers, our aspiration, is to grow toward a mature faith that includes an inner experience we can trust (otherwise you can’t have discernment). A childish God creates childish people. A mature God creates mature people.
So, what is the true nature of the divine?
The nature of the divine is compassion. The truth is that the divine is reaching out to you like the rays of the sun shining through the clouds, it touches everything, everywhere: Divine grace is for everyone without exception. So you can let go of your limiting beliefs. It doesn't matter what or who you are. Love is the great power, which can penetrate any barrier; even sociopathy. Love informs your soul to live according to your highest good: eventually you discover yourself as the love that you are. When you realize that only love is real, then you can begin to know compassion. And when you know compassion, you may enter all dimensions and know all realities, including death, without fear.
Meanwhile, you are the image you create of God: It creates you, or it defeats you. There is a definite correlation of how we see God, ourselves and others. This is why mature spirituality can make such a transformative difference in how we live our daily lives in this world. James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” What does it mean to draw near to God? It means to have a sweet intimate relationship with your divine. With the experience of divine love, your life will be transformed. The Divine is telling you, “You are dear to me, you are my sons and daughters, I love you.” 1 John 3:1 says, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.“
Read 1 Corinthians 2:11, “For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.” Think about it. Where is the spirit of God? Inside you, and you are in the Spirit, and you are a minuscule part of Source. The divine knows ALL of yours thoughts and you are loved as a son or daughter. So most of us have to learn that the divine is our friend—not our enemy. It may seem odd for you to read these words; but at the foundation it is true that you must often change your perception of the divine. For example, you may doubt that God listens to you and responds to every sincere prayer. So through the doubt you will be led to discover the reality of grace and a compassionate God.
One of the greatest attributes of compassion is that the divine hears ALL prayers.
When an individual cries to the Lord from the depth of their heart, the Lord responds instantly and helps. God does not ask what path the devotee is adopting. Love looks for the authentic surrender that the devotee has asked for help. People dream about a person in their lives who is only there for them; know that ONLY the divine can be such a friend. Everybody else will judge you, it is the nature of the divisive mind, but the divine does not judge. The divine is all of the time caring for you, all of the time thinking about you, all of the time loving you. The real question is, “Do you have time for the divine?” You have so many relationships in your life, but your divine has only you. Think about it, everyday the divine is waiting for you. When you dwell with God he gently whispers, “Be still and know I am God.”
What does it mean to dwell with the divine?
Dwelling with God means to listen to the still small voice inside your soul. He has something to say about every detail of your life: what you eat, how you manage your time, who you hang out with, the thoughts you dwell on, the attitudes in your heart, EVERYTHING. He has wisdom for the friend who ask for help, and ideas for how to love your neighbor.
Dwelling with God means that I have established a life-giving connection to Him. If there is no connection, there is no life, no abundance, no compassion, no wisdom, no love. This is easy to see especially in our world today where people are so alienated from each other. Humanity has nearly lost its humanity; its’ capacity to love.
Dwelling with God means I am continuously aware of Him. I consider Him in all I do. I am concerned about the things that concern him. I converse with the divine throughout the day. I depend on the power and resources of grace. I embrace His promises. He holds me up when I’m weak. He protects me when I’m lost. He knows the right words when I don’t. I am humbled and confident knowing that nothing can ever separate us.
Dwelling with God means He lives within me, knowing me as I truly am. He sees my discord, the conflict buried in my heart, the hurt I am running from, the distractions, and, yes, the marvelous light that shines too: God put the flame in my heart. I want to make Him feel at home, to enjoy spending time with me. Because God’s always with me, I’m home no matter where I am.
Dwelling with God means that we are invited into personal deep eternal relationship.
God communicating with us is something more than simple orders. Abraham’s friendship with God was demonstrated by God’s willingness and desire to speak with Abraham. Exodus 33:11 says, “Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend.” [Read Exodus 33:1-23 in the “Holy Bible.” This is one of the most mysterious Biblical revelations of God.] Similarly, the “Bhagavad Gita,” reveals a deeply personal relationship shared between Arjuna and Krishna. Enlightened people were friends of God. Have you ever thought of your relationship with God in terms of a friendship?
What were the characteristics of this friendship between God and Moses?
Moses was humble. Moses knew he needed God’s friendship. Moses had been given the enormous task of leading Israel from one country to another. He knew that he could not handle the task of leading God’s people without constant guidance from the Lord. The first element clearly was humility that filled him with determination to develop the most important relationship to God. He had determined to spend time with God.
Moses was authentic. The phrase face to face connotes the capacity to see the other. It gives us the sense of openness, honesty, and delight. Moses was not afraid to ask God anything. Moses spoke honestly, he expressed all of his thoughts and feelings, and he expected God to answer.
Moses wanted others to know God as a friend. Moses knew that God speaks to anyone who approaches him. He encouraged development of a deep personal friendship with God. Moses invited the entire community to develop a friendship with God. “Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the ‘tent of meeting’. Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp (Ex. 33:7).”
Moses cared about the people of Israel. If we are going to delight in the divine, we need to ask: “Do I really care?” For many the honest answer will be, “No, I do not care.” In January 2011, nineteen people were shot in a supermarket parking lot in Tucson, Arizona. Six people were killed. This public tragedy gave me the opportunity to embrace not caring in my own heart. My spiritual director told me to go to my room and pray. I felt the Lord nudge me inside, “Pray for the shooter.” When I began to pray, I didn’t feel anything. Finally, I told God, “My heart is cold, I don’t care…I’m tired of praying.” Fortunately, for me God delights to turn up the flame He placed in our hearts. I allowed myself to experience not caring. Unfortunately, we are too much living in the darkness: Too many hearts are closed and cold in the face of humanity’s and the Earth's suffering. It took me three days to see the shooter with grace and mercy—and I wept.
Moses interceded for the people. Moses actually dreaded going anywhere without the Lord. God's gracious promises, and mercy towards us, are to encourage our faith, but also excite our fervency in prayer. The Lord granted that which would abundantly satisfy. God's goodness is his glory; and he will have us to know him by the glory of his mercy, more than by the glory of his majesty. What Moses desired, therefore, was a sight of the glory or essential being of God. The fullest and brightest displays of his glory, grace, and goodness, are reserved to another state.
We need to cherish and nourish our sweet and intimate relationship with God. As we meet him regularly “face to face.” He will fill our lives with grace overflowing, and out of that overflow our human friendships will flourish. God will show you how to be a friend to others. People need people. This need is part of what it means to be human. The last two years have taught the world that one of the worst things that can happen to a person is to be isolated from other people, and the converse of this is that if we are to grow intellectually, socially, and spiritually; we need community.
We need to cherish and nourish our intimate relationship with likeminded souls. The upper room is an example of this. In Acts chapter one, while waiting for Jesus to return after the resurrection, we see the disciples returned to Jerusalem. We are told that they have one mind and one purpose which was continually devoting themselves to prayer, waiting together.
The first commitment needed is to devote ourselves to joyful prayer (Luke 24).
We rejoice with uncontainable joy because infinite grace has reached down and saved a wretch like you and me. Recount the ways in which God has mercifully brought you to himself, and look at people like Peter too. Despite the fact that he denied Jesus three times on the night of his arrest, Peter is the one chosen to have the primary preaching role throughout the first twelve chapters of Acts.
After returning with joy and waiting with unity, they (about 120 people) devoted themselves to continual praise and continual prayer. There were two requisites for true prayer, namely that they persevered, and were of one mind. Praying together often creates unity. They prayed with confidence. We pray with confidence because we know that God himself will sanctify us completely. And it is He who intercedes on your behalf even now! Do you realize that even when you are the only one in a room, you are never praying alone? The privilege of prayer is that we get to pray with our Lord! He is always ready to pray with and for us.
Joy, unity, and prayer should characterize our lives as maturing spiritual seekers. Unity results when mature seekers are willing to place the needs of others above their own.
The upper room represents important principles of prayer. Our upper room is a place to be honest in prayer. As we bare our heart before God, we cry out to Him. Elijah cried out to the Lord. A great, wrenching cry of grief and sorrow tore him apart. (1 Kings 17:20)
Does the Lord know your name? Is the divine pleased with you? When was the last time you reflected upon your connection to the divine? Is it easy to recall the ways in which the Lord has worked in and through your life? How are you growing in grace? Can you hardly wait to climb the stairs to get there and pray? Is your heart heavy with the weight of the one you are carrying? Or are your words empty, devoid of feelings? Empty words are not compassionate. Ask the Lord to birth the great cry in your heart. Take the time, establish a place, and make the effort to climb up to God to do the work of prayer. Who knows how many lives will be transformed because of your prayers in the upper room? Face to face in the upper room, tent or temple; let us joyfully celebrate with George Harrison:
