Moses and the Presence of God: Face to Face with God

Hesed means: Loyal Love, Unfailing Kindness, Faithfulness, and Steadfastness.“...he genuinely cares about humans and holds toward them a tender attitude of concern and mercy.”- Douglas Stuart “...he does things for people they do not deserve and goes beyond what might be expected to grant truly kind favor toward people, favor of which they are not necessarily worthy.”- Douglas Stuart “Hesed cannot be translated with one English word. It is a covenant term, wrapping up in itself all the positive attributes of God: love, covenant faithfulness, mercy, grace, kindness, loyalty. In short, it refers to acts of devotion and loving kindness that go beyond the requirements of duty.”– Daniel BlockGod reveals Himself as compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, and rich in faithful love. This hesed is not casual kindness but covenant loyalty. It is love that remains steady even when undeserved. This is who God is at His core. That same description echoes throughout Scripture:- Numbers 14:18- Nehemiah 9:17- Psalm 86:15- Psalm 103:8- Psalm 145:8- Joel 2:13- Jonah 4:2- Nahum 1:3These are not isolated statements but a consistent reminder of His character across generations. God is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.This is not only something to understand, it is something that transforms us. As we behold God, we are changed. What we fix our attention on shapes who we become. Being with Him and keeping Him before our minds forms us over time into that same kind of life.“Who we are on the inside, we will eventually become on the outside.”- Pete ScazzeroSaint Irenaeus wrote, “The glory of God is a human being fully alive; and to be alive consists in beholding God.”“The first and most basic thing we can and must do is to keep God before our minds... This is the fundamental secret of caring for our souls. Our part in this practicing the presence of God is to direct and redirect our minds constantly to Him. In the early time of our 'practicing' we may well be challenged by our burdensome habits of dwelling on things less than God. But these are habits - not the law of gravity - and can be broken...A new, grace-filled habit will replace the former ones as we take intentional steps toward keeping God before us. Soon our minds will return to God as the needle of a compass constantly returns to the north. If God is the great longing of our souls, He will become the pole star of our inward beings.”- Dallas Willard