“Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai…that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him.”  Ex. 34:29

Fact is, none of us have any clue how God is using us. Or where God is using us. Or when God is using us. Moses had simply spent prolonged, intimate, unhurried time with God (Ex. 34:28). He had feasted upon the glory of God and received firsthand the word of God. Things that are available to each of us. And then what did he do?  The text records that he simply “came down”.  No fanfare. No trumpets. Just the quiet, humble trudging of the aged man of God. And as he came down God used him mightily. His face was irradiated by the resplendent glory of God Himself. So powerful was that display that the children of Israel “…were afraid to come near him.” (Ex. 34:30)

But Moses “did not know” any of this. He had no idea how God was using him. He had no idea where God was using him. And he certainly had no idea when God was using him. No idea whatsoever that this incident would be catapulted into the writings of Paul millennia later where it would serve as a central illustration in distinguishing the Old Covenant from the New (II Cor. 3:7-19) No, Moses just “came down”, oblivious to the multitude of ways his lingering intimacy with God would impact others and history.

Perhaps our greatest calling in life is two-fold: go up and come down. “Come up to Me…and be there” (Ex. 24:12) is the first great calling of our life. “Then He appointed twelve that they might be with Him…” (Mk. 3:14) Ever-deepening, passionate intimacy with Christ trumps all other callings. But out of that highest calling comes the next one: “come down”.  Leave the serenity, stillness, and privacy of time alone with the Lord and come down to the plains and valleys of everyday life. And most of all, come down to the inhabitants of this sin-riddled planet. And when you come down, bring God with you. And bring what He has taught you. And in quiet, humble faithfulness be yourself in God. That’s all Moses did. And that’s pretty much all God is calling us to as well. But never underestimate how God can use this. Or where. Or when. Just keep going up and coming down.