Exodus 33:14: "The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
Before we knew it, it was the last night of the camp! Following the leading of the Holy Spirit, Ps Ben led us into our own encounters with the Lord. I will always remember this night as the night we fell face down before God.
Singing "The Goodness of God" on the first night of camp! (c) Lee Eng Siong, 2023.
For some of us, the greatest takeaway from camp is learning how to encounter God’s presence in its different forms. Worship can be a vibrantly charged expression of joy, of singing and dancing and being moved to tears by His very presence. It can also be gentler and quieter moments just spent being in worship, where there are just no words to express that comfort we feel being right there with Him.
He is no less real in our individual quiet moments, when we don’t ‘feel’ any strong emotion. In fact, these moments of intimacy with God, inside our own tents, will help us to align our lives with God’s will.
You see, Moses became a different man because of the intimacy he cultivated with God. His burning bush encounter was only the beginning. Moses developed his intimacy with the Lord by going into the Tent of Meeting every day. And every day, the Lord met him there. When we first met Moses, he was preoccupied with himself. He objected to God’s calling on the basis of his perceived flaws (Exodus 3), so much so that it angered the Lord. However, by Exodus 33, the only thing Moses is concerned about is that God’s presence would go with him, no matter where He led.
These moments of intimacy – of abiding in Him – are precisely what enables us to bear lasting fruit in God’s kingdom. As we become more attuned to His voice, He reveals His plans not just for our life, but the lives of others! We begin to carry his heart for other people, seeing them the way He sees them.
Forming "Homecoming" with my camp group! (c) Lycia Ho, 2023.
Psalm 37:4 says that if we delight ourselves in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our heart. Not that He grants us what we want – but what we want will be shaped by Him. No wonder Jesus said we can ask whatever we want in His name, and He will do it (John 14:14). The only condition is that we want what God wants. This is perhaps the greatest gift of intimacy with the Lord: we become one with Him. We are a church full of activity. Every Thursday, most of us are busy with ministry. My prayer is that as much as we love doing things with God, we would love intimacy with Him even more. Is there anything you would do differently to cultivate an even sweeter intimacy with the Lord? As Moses reminds us, it is actually possible to get to the Promised Land without God (Exodus 33:15). What would be the point?
As I conclude our camp reflections, may Holy Spirit bring to remembrance what you’ve experienced in camp. May He begin to birth dreams in our hearts, as we step into a new season of deeper obedience and greater intimacy. The lasting fruit we bear for His kingdom is only a natural outcome of abiding in Him. I’m so excited to see what God does next. Til the next camp!
Signing off,
Lycia Camp Commandant 2023
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