In the book of Exodus, Moses makes a strange request for a strange reason and is given a strange response. I have heard discourses on this but it still seems very weird to me.
God starts it by telling Moses how pleased He is with Moses. Moses then replies, “if I have found favor, then show me Your glory.” Not, “show me Your face,” or, “show me a sign.” And why would finding favor with God motivate him to make this request. What about seeing God’s glory was the fulfillment of Moses’ need in that moment.
God had just threatened to wipe out the Jews and made an offer to make a nation out of Moses. Israel was in rebellion and many had already died because of their sin. Moses talks God out of killing everyone but then, as the scene plays out, demonstrates an admirable level of humanity. God is pleased.
So why ask to see God’s glory?
And God answers with putting him in a broken place on the rocks. He answers by showing only the back of His glory.
God, the answer to our every need is to see more of You. In really seeing You, we learn and grow, we are transformed, we become radiant. Put me in that broken place, where things are hard, where I don’t understand. And show me Your hand as it covers my eyes and Your back so I know where to follow.
Meet with me face to face. Meet with me as you would a friend.
The Healing Worshipper 
I am struck that God showed Moses only the Back Part of His Glory. The same thing happened to Isaiah in Isaiah 6:1-8. God states somewhere that no man can see HIS FACE and live! He reveals only as much of Himself as a human body can receive and digest. If we stare at the SUN too long we will go blind. Both Moses and Isaiah needed to live a bit longer. They were not going to be able to complete the work God was giving them to do if they were DEAD from the neutronic rays of His glory consuming them. But just the TRAIN (Isaiah) or the BACK PARTS (Moses) was so AWESOME that it dwarfed their previous concepts of God. Most of us really serve our version of Santa Claus, NOT the God of the Bible, who was BEFORE the foundation of the world and will be when the planet we know is history! OUR GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD!