“I need to write a blog post about God hiding me in the cleft of the rock!”

I have a feeling I wasn’t the first Bible-reading blogger to think that while visiting the Garden of the Gods. The place is awe-inspiring, and rocks with clefts are abundant.

People took photo opportunities everywhere, peeking out from the clefts alone or in groups. A friend asked if I wanted a picture.

“I don’t want to wait in line,” I said.

But I accidentally got a much more interesting cleft picture.

The lengths we’ll go to for a photo op

In the photo, my college roommate, Rhonda, and I pose in front of the rocks. Behind us, you see a family gathered around a cleft.

What you can’t see in the mute photograph is the wailing voice coming from within the rocks. One member of the family was NOT happy to be in that cleft. We found out later the young girl had scratched her elbow on the rough walls of the rocks, and there in the darkness of the cleft, the minor scrape became a major injury.

We passed by the family later, with the rescued girl still sniffling over her ordeal. We praised her bravery, but she was having none of it. She just wanted a bandaid.

Finding shelter in the cleft

This morning, I looked through my pictures from the day and typed “cleft in the rock” into my computer. I had some pretty shots of the clefts, and I wanted to find an appropriate Psalm about God offering shelter in the cleft of the rock. Blog post, here I come.

Turns out, the psalmist mentions God setting him on the top of the rock for protection from his enemies, but not in the cleft. The passage I recalled was in Exodus.

And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”

Exodus 33:21-23

Wait. God put Moses in the cleft to protect him from His glory? Not his enemies? What is that all about?

I would, but I’d have to kill you

I remembered the story. Moses asked God, once again, to confirm that it was actually Him who called him to lead the Israelites. Basically, he carded the Lord Most High. Asked for His ID.

“Show me Your glory!” he begged.

God said, “I would. But I’d have to kill you.”

God’s glory was a big deal. A mere person could not look at it and live. But God relented, “I’ll show you, but I’ll also protect you.”

He hid him in the cleft of the rock and covered him with His hand.

But I want to see it!

I thought of that young girl at The Garden of the Gods. Did Moses struggle against being put in the cleft as she did?

I know I do. Frequently.

For every time I’ve seen God’s hand as He worked in my life, and have given Him glory in the midst of the pain, there are hundreds more when He sheltered me in the cleft and covered me, because I didn’t need to see Him in that moment.

You shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.

Exodus 33:23

Sometimes I want to see His face, but I only get to see His glory from the back.

God’s glory in hindsight

Fear and indecision were constant companions during my journey from fully-employed-and insured-homeowner to unemployed-van-dwelling-nomad. I mostly knew God was in this, but scary things like hurricanes and money kept rearing their heads, and I really wanted to see God’s hand up front so I’d know for sure I was following His plan and not my own.

But God.

He didn’t show me His ways in pushing me to make a down payment on a van months before I’d sold my house, until after the prices for used motor homes jumped $20-30k because new ones were delayed.

He didn’t show me His hand in the storm that put a tree on the house I was about to list for sale, until after insurance paid for the brand new roof that made it more valuable.

He didn’t show me His plan for the church I loved, until after I made room for a new work and new workers.

I wanted to see God’s face.

He showed me His back.

Once I got out of the cleft–once I got my bandaid–I could see Him, praise Him, and give Him the glory for all He’d done.

Staying on the best route

My GPS warns me of obstacles ahead. Sometimes it tells me I’m still on the fastest route, and sometimes it gives me an alternative. More than once, I’ve wondered, after taking the alternative route, if some GPS gremlin was playing a joke on me.

When it comes to following God, I want to stay on the best route. Not necessarily the fastest route, but the best one. I want to trust Him in the unknowing.

Do you ever doubt what the Holy Spirit is leading you to do when things are hard? Do you ever beg God to identify Himself, so you can know for sure that it’s Him you see and hear?

Don’t miss the blessing of the cleft. What would happen if you gave God glory now, trusting that He’s there and at work, even though you can’t see His face?

Don’t miss the blessing of the cleft.

I’d love to hear your stories of trusting God in the cleft. Please share in the comments.

Grace and Peace on the Road,

Christi