Those of us who have been married for years and in some cases decades, realized something long ago. Keeping romance alive in your relationship takes tremendous effort. To keep these fires burning it takes intentional thought and attention. This is no different in our relationship with the Lord. Keeping our relationship with Him fresh and vital requires attention. It requires effort. It requires forethought.

When Moses asked to see God's glory (Exodus 33:18), God didn't put on a display of His power, strength, and majesty like He did to Isaiah (Isaiah 6) showing him a vision of His throne room and the seraphim. He didn't give a vision of four terrifying living creatures, with fire and lightning and spinning wheels like He did Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1). But what He did do is give Moses propositional statements about His attributes. God revealed to him His goodness! (Exodus 34:6-7).

(Exodus 34:1-10) (HCSB)

 The Lord said to Moses, “Cut two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2 Be prepared by morning. Come up Mount Sinai in the morning and stand before Me on the mountaintop. 3 No one may go up with you; in fact, no one must be seen anywhere on the mountain. Even the flocks and herds are not to graze in front of that mountain.” 4 Moses cut two stone tablets like the first ones. He got up early in the morning, and taking the two stone tablets in his hand, he climbed Mount Sinai, just as the Lord had commanded him. 5 The Lord came down in a cloud, stood with him there, and proclaimed His name Yahweh. 6 Then the Lord passed in front of him and proclaimed: Yahweh—Yahweh is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth, 7 maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving wrongdoing, rebellion, and sin. But He will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ wrongdoing on the children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation. 8 Moses immediately bowed down to the ground and worshiped. 9 Then he said, “My Lord, if I have indeed found favor in Your sight, my Lord, please go with us. Even though this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wrongdoing and sin, and accept us as Your own possession.” 10 And the Lord responded: “Look, I am making a covenant. I will perform wonders in the presence of all your people that have never been done in all the earth or in any nation. All the people you live among will see the Lord’s work, for what I am doing with you is awe-inspiring. 

There is no way while we are on this earth that we will ever know everything about God. He is infinite. We are not. But we can always know Him more and more deeply. We can keep pressing on. I want to share with you two ways you can know God more intimately or deeply.

1. To know God more, you need a Holy Dissatisfaction with where you are spiritually 

(Psalm 23) says the Lord is our Shepherd and we shall not want. The Apostle Peter said every Christian has everything they need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:13). But the Apostle Paul said there are unfathomable riches in Christ we need to explore (Ephesians 3:8). Moses wasn't content either, that God promised to teach him His ways. He said I want to see Your glory (Exodus 33:18). This was a prayer to know God more deeply. But didn't Moses talk to God at the burning bush and see the mighty miracles of the parting of the Red Sea and the manna from heaven and water from the rock? Wasn't all this and more enough for Moses? He said no, I want to see You in a deeper way. 

God promised Moses (Exodus 33:19) that His goodness would pass in front of him. This goodness is the sum of all God's attributes and actions. But He told him that he could not see His face and live (Exodus 33:20). He then said this in (Exodus 33:21-23). The Lord said, "Here is a place near Me. You are to stand on the rock, and when My glory passes by, I will put you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will take My hand away, and you will see My back, but My face will not be seen."

The Lord promised to hide Moses but reveal part of His glory. This is so Moses would survive this whole experience. The hymns "Rock of ages" and He hideth my soul" speak of this rock. This crevice or rock is Christ. He followed Israel through the wilderness (1 Corinthians 10:4). (John 1:14) says that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory. The word "dwelt" means tabernacle. Jesus is God's tabernacle pitched among us so that we could behold His glory. Jesus said the one who has seen Me has seen the Father (John 14:9).

When you come to know Jesus more deeply, you will see more of God's glory. When you are feasting on God's Word daily, ask Him to reveal more and more of who Christ is to your soul. It really makes no difference how long you have been a Christian. Just like the Apostle Paul and Moses, keep pressing on for more. "Lord show me Your glory!"

2. To know God more, you need to understand His Abundant Goodness  

God's goodness includes His compassion. God deals with us as a compassionate Father (1 Thessalonians 2:11). God's goodness also includes His grace. He shows us His undeserved favor. God's goodness means that He is slow to anger. This doesn't mean God doesn't get angry. There are many instances in the Bible of God's righteous anger burning against His people, but only after they had continually sinned after many warnings. God's goodness also means that He is abounding in lovingkindness and truth. God is the standard of what is true, and He will never waiver from that standard. He is always faithful to keep His Word.