Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Learning to follow God



In my reading this morning I came to a very interesting passage in Numbers 9. It describes how the nation of Israel knew where and when to go as they traveled through the wilderness. The passage describes their travel plans...they lived, rested or moved based on God's cloud that covered the tabernacle. If the cloud moved, they moved. If the cloud stayed over the tabernacle...even for a year, they stayed where they were. God was the ultimate GPS for the nation of Israel. They learned to follow God on a daily basis. Here's what I imagine a morning would look like for a family following God through the wilderness-
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Dad, "Honey, why don't you put on the coffee, I'll go check on the cloud."
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Mom, "Ok, let me know as soon as you can what the plans are for the day, do we stay here or do we pack?"
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Dad, "I'll be right back, get that coffee going, I really need it today. We have been moving a lot lately. I'm not sure what God is doing, but it has been a weekly move to a new location. I don't know why...it all looks the same out here."
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Wife, "I know. But we must follow where God leads even if we don't know why. I'm sure he has a plan."
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Son, "Mom, is God trying to teach us to trust him? Are we following the cloud as a way to learn to obey God or to learn to trust him? I don't think I know the reasons."
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Wife, "Son, God is doing several things all at once. Your father and I have talked about this many times. God is working in our lives so that we will obey him, that is one of his desires. But he's also working to develop our trust in him. We have not followed him as we should and have rebelled often. Following the cloud is a simple way to learn obedience and trust. It also forces us, first thing each morning, to check the cloud...to see what God is doing, where he is leading. God is training us to watch for his leading in our lives. Daily, we are learning to trust him, watch for his leading and learning to obey him. It's been hard, we ask "why" often, but God doesn't answer that question, so we follow the cloud."
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Dad (returning to the tent), "Well, we don't move today. Is that coffee ready? I'm ready for a nice relaxing morning. What's for breakfast?"
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Mom, "How about some manna-cakes with honey?"
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And today, in my life, God works one day at a time inviting me to follow him. In that following something else is developed. Something that has created some of the songs we sing in church. In that following two things happen, I learn to obey. As I obey I discover I can trust him....he is, indeed, trustworthy. Just as Israel in the desert had to trust and obey God on a daily basis, so must we. The way God works with his children hasn't changed. He invites us to follow him on a daily basis. In that following we develop two vital aspects of our relationship with God- trust and obedience.
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"Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey."
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2 comments:

Michell said...

Thanks Mike for sharing this cleverness & wisdom. I love your scripting & the message of trusting and obeying God daily.

mike said...

Loved it!!!!