I discovered several years ago that when driving in the fog, you're better off driving with your dims on. Obviously, the water droplets that make up the fog reflect light like a mirror. Thus, driving with your bright lights on in the fog has a tendency to blind you. As weird as it seems, some sun glasses actually help you see better to drive in the fog for the same reason.
Sometimes life gets pretty foggy. It's hard to see where things are going or what path to take. We stumble. We run into things. We get very tentative. We slow to a crawl or stop completely. We think we know the general direction in which to go but since it's hard to get our bearings we hesitate. Feeling your way through the fog is an uneasy feeling. Okay, it's downright intense sometimes. Why can't life always be easy to see where you're going?
In our passage today, God makes it easy for the Israelites. Since the time they left Egypt, God has led them by a cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. After they built the Tabernacle, God's presence moved over it in the the form of this cloud. He spoke to Moses at the Tent of Meeting in the cloud giving direction and instructions to the people. The people saw the presence of God on a daily, never ending basis. They knew God was with them all the time.
One of the determining actions of directions for the Israelites was the movement of the cloud. When the cloud lifted, it was time to pack and go. Interestingly, the text says sometimes the cloud settled for a day and sometimes the cloud would be there for a month without moving. Sometimes it was overnight and sometimes it might be a year in one place. But whenever the cloud moved the group was off. Nobody stayed behind or packed to leave on their own. They followed the cloud.
The reason they followed the cloud was because, it represented the presence of God in their midst. No one wanted to get left behind and be on their own. And no one wanted to walk away from God and face life in the wilderness alone. When we're standing at a campfire and the wind shifts and smoke begins to blow into our face, we try to get away from it. But for the Israelites, seeing the smoky cloud over the Tabernacle was a sign of assurance.
Instead of running away from the cloud of God, we should be eager to see it. Following Him was life, assurance, direction, protection, survival to the Children of Israel. It can be for us too. Instead of a real cloud and pillar of fire, God has placed within each of His children His Holy Spirit to guide us, direct us, protect us, etc. in ways similar to the Israelites of old. He's also given us His Word, the Bible to read and study. Following His truths and listening to the Spirit within us are the most effective ways to maneuver through the fogginess of life.
God, it's sure easy to get lost in life. I guess that's why we have the tendency to follow the crowd. But often when I follow the crowd it leads to a dead end or worse. Allow me to see the smoke from your cloud. I'd rather follow you. I want to see clearly, to go through life with confident assurance that I'm going the right direction.
No comments:
Post a Comment