The Cloud Above the Tabernacle

"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. That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire. Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. 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.

"When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the LORD's order and did not set out. 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. 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. 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.

"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 (NIV)

Using this story as a guide, I want to share with you four lessons from the cloud and the fire that explain to us something about how God guides his people.

Lesson #1: God's guidance is revealed to us one step at a time

Numbers 9 makes this very clear. The cloud would lift, and they would go. As long as the cloud kept moving, they would follow. When it stopped, they would stop. Sometimes it would stop for a night and go on the next morning. Then it would stop for a few days, and they would stop for a few days. The Israelites never knew from moment to moment or day to day what the cloud was going to do next.

Many Christians trip over this very point because they want to see ten steps ahead before they will take the first step. But life doesn't work that way. God rarely shows you ten steps in advance. He normally leads you one step at a time. He will lead you a step, then he'll lead you another step, and then he'll lead you another step. After he's led you ten steps, you look back and say, "How did I get from there to here?" Then you realise it was just step by step by step.

Lesson #2: God's guidance demands our obedience whether it makes sense to us or not

One day the cloud would just stop in the middle of the desert; so that's where the people of Israel set up camp. Ten days later it would suddenly begin to move again. Why? Why not ten weeks? Or ten months? Or why not just keep moving? No one - not even Moses - knew the answers to those questions. Many days it didn't make any sense at all.

God's guidance is often like that. Sometimes God keeps you moving when you would rather stop... The other side is also true. Sometimes the Lord says, "Stay" when we would rather be moving...

Let this lesson soak into your soul: God's guidance demands our obedience, even when it makes no sense to us. Sometimes God moves when we want to stay. Sometimes God says, "Stay" when we would rather move on and get our life going again.

Lesson #3: God's guidance changes its character according to the need of the moment

During the day when the Israelites needed to see a cloud, God provided a cloud; but at night when the cloud would be invisible, the cloud looked like fire. God had one way of showing himself to them during the day and another way of showing himself at night.

That leads me to this conclusion: God's guidance is always there, but his various means of guiding us change from moment to moment. Consider the implications of that statement. God is not obligated to lead you in the same way he leads somebody else. God is not obligated to deal with you today in the same way he dealt with you yesterday or the way he is going to deal with you tomorrow...

How does God guide his people? A thousand different ways. But no matter what form the guidance may take, it will always be 100 percent consistent with the Word of God, because God does not contradict himself.

God's moment-by-moment leading comes through a variety of means. Sometimes through the advice of good Christian friends. Sometimes through prayer. Sometimes by listening to a sermon. Sometimes by an inner conviction that God has spoken to us. Sometimes by a deep sense of inner peace. Sometimes God will guide us through a particular passage of Scripture. Sometimes all of the circumstances of life clearly point in one direction. Sometimes he simply gives us the wisdom to make the right decision. Sometimes he "speaks" to us. Sometimes he guides us by his silence. Very often it is a combination of all of these things put together.

God is committed to guiding his children on their journey from earth to heaven. And though his methods may change, and though sometimes they may be difficult to understand, God is committed to seeing that you ultimately reach your final destination.

Lesson #4: God's guidance is revealed as we stay close to him

The Old Testament tells us that the cloud and the pillar represented the very presence of God. They weren't just symbols of some heavenly truth; they represented God's presence with his people. We are told in the Old Testament that the Lord spoke from the cloud. So when they saw the cloud, they understood that the Lord himself was leading them.

Do you know what that means? If the cloud went north and you went south, you were soon going to get into trouble. If the cloud started moving and your family didn't follow, you would be separated from the presence of God. And to correct the situation, you would have to turn around and start following the cloud again.

That leads us to a very important conclusion: God's will is a relationship, not a location. It is not a question of where you should go or what you should do. Knowing the will of God is not primarily about who you should marry or when you should get married. It's not about taking this job or that job, or how many kids you should have, or where you should go to school, or whether you should be a missionary or not. Those are secondary questions.

The primary question is this: Are you willing to stay close to God and follow wherever he leads you? It's a spiritual question. When we say to God, "Show me what to do," the Lord says, "Stay close to me." We cry out to the heavens, "I'm scared." God says, "Follow me." We say, "O God, give me some answers." And God says, "Give me your heart." That's why Numbers 9:23 says, "At the command of the LORD they camped, and at the command of the LORD they set out." If you will do the same thing, God will guide you. If the LORD says stop, you stop. If the Lord says go, you go. He will guide you.

The only way to hear God's voice is to stay close to him. This is a moral and spiritual issue. Are you willing to go when he says go, and are you willing to stop when he says stop? If the answer is yes, you can rest assured that God will guide you exactly where he wants you to go. The secret of knowing God's will is the secret of knowing God; and as you get to know God better, he will reveal his will to you.

What does that mean for our decision-making? I think it means, when you need to know, you will know. If God is God, and if you are committed to knowing him, staying close to him, and doing his will, then the ultimate responsibility rests on him to make his will clear to you. The issue is not mystical superstition. The issue is, are you ready to follow God? If the answer is yes, you may be certain that all your questions about guidance will eventually be answered.

- Ray Pritchard, Discovering God's Will for Your Life