God spoke audibly with many of the patriarchs of our faith. Abraham recognized Him and honored Him as God when God visited him by the oaks of Mamre, clothed in the common garb of the day. God appeared to Moses in a blazing fire in the midst of a bush, and later, God placed Moses in the crevice of a rock and allowed Moses to see Him "from behind." To the wandering Israelites in the wilderness, God was a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. God spoke to Job out of a whirlwind and Isaiah "saw Him" in a vision. The disciples saw the manifestation of God in the God-man, Jesus, and Paul saw Him in the blinding light on the road to Damascus. John penned prophetic words of revelation after he saw the glories of the risen Christ in a God-given vision. God’s warning to Moses though that "no man can see Me and live," was echoed in the words of John when he plainly said, "No one has seen God at any time."

 

Isn’t that what we want though? Isn’t the cry of our heart one that pleads for a visible reality of God? Oh, I know that faith that demands eyes to see is not faith at all, for faith is simply a choice that gives substance to what we cannot see. David lifted up his eyes in desperation to fully see God. He heard God’s voice and he saw God’s provision. He communed with God in unparalleled intensity, and quieted his spirit in the secret places of God’s unseen presence, but still he sought God’s face.