Sometimes things just stick out to me when I’m reading Scripture. It’s as if, in the midst of all that’s there, one thing jumps off the page and gets my attention. It may be insignificant or inconsequential to others, but it floors me.
That happened as I read Exodus chapter 34. There are many important things in this chapter, like God proclaiming His name to Moses. (Ex. 34:6-7) But in the midst of all that’s in this chapter, this phrase jumped off the page at me:
“No one is to appear before Me empty-handed.”
What a powerful statement! I hadn’t thought about this before.
We are to bring something to God each and every time we come to Him. It could be our possessions, our ambitions, or the people we love. It could be any number of things, but when we come to God we are to bring something to Him that we’re willing to surrender to Him.
And the most important thing we can bring to God is ourselves! We need to offer up our whole self…internally (Ps. 51:17) and externally (Rom. 12:1). Our total submission to His will and way is more pleasing to Him than anything else we can bring.
In short…when you come to God, what He wants most from you is…you!

 

Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.