Day 4 - Numbers

Numbers kind of gets looked over.  It doesn't really have the pizazz that Genesis has.  It's not the end of the Law like Deuteronomy.  People presume it's just a counting list of all the Israelites because of the name of the book, and that's just how it starts off.  But it's thick with rich stories about God's movement with His people.  It details some amazing events in the life of the Israelites as they trekked through the desert for 40 years.  It's got the story of water coming from a rock, of God providing Quail for the Hebrews to eat, the rift between Moses and his brother, Aaron, and sister-in-law, Miriam, and the story of Balaam and his donkey.  But this passage nails numbers for me and speaks to my life and I bet yours, too:

15 On the day the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire. 16 That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire. 17 Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. 18 At the Lord’s command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. 19 When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the Lord’s order and did not set out. 20 Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the Lord’s command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out. 21 Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out. 22 Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out. 23 At the Lord’s command they encamped, and at the Lord’s command they set out. They obeyed the Lord’s order, in accordance with his command through Moses.  -Numbers 9:15-23

It's such a simple concept:  do what God tells you to do, go where God tells you to go, follow where and how God leads.  AND...don't go or do or follow where God hasn't commanded.  That was really the command God sent through Moses.  When this cloud lifts, we're going.  We're not moving on our own accord.  We're not going a different direction.  We're not leaving a minute early.  And we're not staying a day later, even if we've just unpacked.  We're going where God is going.  Where we are or where we want to be isn't as important as where God is.  That's ultimately where we want to be -- where God is.

Now, I don't think this is always about big picture stuff.  We read a story like this and think this has to do with us moving or changing jobs or something major like that.  It can be about that.  Certainly, we should seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit in those major decisions. We don't want to be taking a job that isn't in God's plan or moving when God says 'stay' or staying when God says 'move.'  I think we think too much about that big picture stuff, though, and minimize the importance of the 'little' stuff.  I think it's the everyday movements that are so important for us to make sure we are under 'The Cloud of God."

And, if you're like me, you often fail in two ways.  First, there's the problem of doing whatever we really feel like doing and not stopping to consider if God is a part or over what we're doing.  We say what we feel, we post on Facebook whatever we want, we spend money on whatever we want to buy, we eat whatever we want to eat, we make whatever business deals seem most profitable, and we get involved in whatever we want to get involved in when it comes to hobbies and recreation.  And all those can be fine things.  But, do you ever stop to think about it like Moses and the Israelites:  "Is this the way God is leading?"  Is this what God is leading me to say to someone or post on Facebook?  Is this the best way to spend my money?  Is this a business deal (or business associate) that I should be involved with?  Does God want me to spend my time of this particular activity?  Of course, we can't let this paralyze us into never knowing what to do, and I'm not sure God is greatly concerned whether you pick the red shirt or blue shirt today.  However, I do know that God leads us in the little things to prepare us for the big things.  What would it mean for you to consider if God's guidance was leading in the everyday directions you're taking?

The flip side of that coin is that we often DON'T go where God IS leading, and it's usually not to become a missionary in Zimbabwe (though it might be!).  We stay too long when the cloud is leading somewhere else.  God is calling us to reach out to a friend and we never start the conversation.  God is calling us to get in a small group and we never take the plunge because we say we're too busy.  God is leading us to tithe but we find every financial excuse we can think of.  God is calling us to start a business but we're afraid to step out on our own.  God is calling us to have more kids or adopt but we find several excellent excuses why we shouldn't.  God is calling us to volunteer but we say we just don't have time.  God is calling us to spend more time with our family but we bow to the altar of our careers.  God is calling us to to end a relationship but we're too needy and attached.  God is calling us to communicate with our spouse but we're fearful of how they'll respond.  God leads.  We come up with reasons we can't go.  We think we know best.  Admit it.  We all do this from time to time.  And it's the simply, daily steps, not the big gigantic, steps we often think about.  What would it mean if we just threw caution to the wind and went wherever God went?  What if we follow wherever he leads?  It might be pretty awesome.  It might not make sense now.  It might be difficult now.  But it might look a lot like the story of the Hebrews.  There was a Promised Land waiting on the other side for them.  There might just be for us, too.