Exodus 19:9 The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you.” Then Moses told the Lord what the people had said.
Commentary says of this section that humans need boundaries and that even those who didn’t want to submit to those boundaries “were to submit their feelings to obedience.” It made me think of a lesson I learned way later than was probably proper: God is bigger than my feelings.
Exodus 19:10-11 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes and be ready by the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
I feel everything to the extreme: Big joy, big despair, big anger. And I was taught to be meek before the Lord, not to show my true feelings as a sign of respect. I didn’t think God could handle my emotions. My anger would break Him, would cause Him to turn His back. But the truth is, God is bigger than every emotion I possess, and He loves me eternally. He is bigger than my feelings.
Exodus 19:12 Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful that you do not approach the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain is to be put to death.
Precious Savior, Thank You for the reminder that You are bigger than my feelings. Thank You that I can be my authentic self with you–happy, sad, angry, confused, and You can handle my every emotion. Thank You for the reminder to feel my feelings, to submit them to You, and to trust You as the sovereign and loving God that You are. Amen.
Exodus 19:13 They are to be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on them. No person or animal shall be permitted to live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.”
Have a blessed day.