February 14, 2025 -What is Your Cloud

EXODUS 39:32-40:38

NUMBERS 9:15-23

Chronological Bible Readings

Numbers 9:20 Sometimes the cloud would stay over the Tabernacle for only a few days, so the people would stay for only a few days, as the Lord commanded. Then at the Lord’s command they would break camp and move on. 21 Sometimes the cloud stayed only overnight and lifted the next morning. But day or night, when the cloud lifted, the people broke camp and moved on. 22 Whether the cloud stayed above the Tabernacle for two days, a month, or a year, the people of Israel stayed in camp and did not move on. But as soon as it lifted, they broke camp and moved on. 23 So they camped or traveled at the Lord’s command, and they did whatever the Lord told them through Moses.

This reminds me of what I had heard many years ago regarding following the will of God. When God places you somewhere or tells you to go somewhere or do something you should stay there and do that until He tells you to do something different. Even if it means waiting to accomplish something else that He has told you He has planned for you. It may seem like nothing is being accomplished. It may be difficult, painful and hard. The church that I am part of is one of those things. I can see how God has placed me where I am in this church. Over the years I have had times that I felt like I was wandering in a wasteland and wanted out. There were times that I felt like I wanted to move on to something that would "fulfill" me. But I always remembered this lesson. God has placed every person in the body of Christ for a reason and unless He moves you, stay where He has placed you. Every time that I got impatient and hungry for something else, I stayed, and I'm glad that I did. This is one of those "year" or years things. There are other things that I have felt called to do that were short lived. Things that happened right away. And still others that were longer like a months kind of thing. One of those is when God had told me that He was calling me to become and elder in the church. I had told my pastor and he was to take it to the session but it took 3 years for God to prepare me and our session for this next step. Sometimes God tells us He is leading us somewhere but the path is not always a straight line and it often takes longer than our internal GPS would predict.

God spoke directly to Moses but He also directed the path of the community. If He had not given the Israelites a way to know when to stay and when to go and where to go they would have just went straight to the promised land and failed at taking it over. We must trust that God is speaking to our leadership and also look to Him for guidance to be able to follow the path that He has set for us. If we move forward according to our own will, understanding or desires we will surely fail. What may seem like wasted time and wandering aimlessly in the desert is all part of the plan and God is using it to put everything into place as it needs to be to accomplish His great purpose.

It's important that we recognize the cloud and fire that He uses to guide each one of us and follow it. Just as God was faithful to lead the Israelites, He is faithful to lead us. The cloud and the fire did not change. How He leads us and guides us will not change either. A good test to know if something you think is a leading from God really is, is to ask, "Has He ever guided me this way in the past?", or "Is this how He has been speaking to me?". For example, I can look at my life and recognize that God speaks to me through scripture and other believers and that He will give me the same scripture and message repeatedly. That is the cloud I know I should follow. So, when I have a longing in my heart to do something or go somewhere even if it would be seen as a great thing to do for God, but there is no confirmation through scripture and other believers, then I know that the cloud is not going that direction, and I need to stay where I am.

What is the cloud in your life? How does God lead you? If you aren't sure talk to Him about it and make sure you are listening for the answer. You can also find a Christian friend that you know is grounded in their relationship with Jesus and ask them to help you review your experiences with God to help you identify how He has led you in the past.