Moving with the Cloud

I’m writing this sitting in a booth at a local restaurant where I enjoyed breakfast with the Lord. I left the office to get away from the hustle and bustle for a few moments of sanctuary with the Lord. I used this time to complete my Experiencing God work, write in my journal, and to read some scriptures.

I was dutifully but not delightfully making my way through the book of Numbers. If you have read that book it can be very dry with all the genealogies. I was not enjoying it but trying to take George Mueller’s advice about seeking the will of God through the pages of scripture and the interpretation of the Holy Spirit.

I read verse after verse trying to stay focused and to keep my mind from drifting. That is when I came to Numbers 9:18-23. The essence of this passage is simple but was very profound for me. God would come to the tabernacle and camp out there in the form of a cloud. When the cloud remained over the tent of meeting the nation of Israel remained camped. When the cloud moved they packed up and followed the Lord in the form of the cloud.

At times the cloud would remained settled for a month or longer and at other times it would remain settled for a day or less. Each time the nation of Israel witnessed the cloud moving they would move also. When the cloud remained they learned to patiently wait on the Lord.

This was the exact word I needed from the Lord today. As a pastor I face countless decisions many about the future. I face decisions about different missions endeavors the Lord is leading us to join Him in. I face different decisions about the church and different ministries to start or to revamp. I have to make choices about the best way to spend my time and about the best way to use the church’s resources.

What I need most is to wait when God wants me to wait and to move forward when God wants me to move. I admit it would it would be so much easier if I had a cloud around me telling me when to wait and when to move. I do not have that. What I do have is the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures. When I wait on the Lord and seek to know His will I can trust that He will lead me through His Spirit as I dig in the word like I did this morning.

I needed a fresh reminder that this does not have to be complicated. The church at large has made following God very difficult. We establish committees many of whom do not pray, do not wait, and do not desire to let God set the agenda. We have leaders who use manipulation and business methods to work people to get the desired result. Others use intimidation methods to push their agenda. What about people waiting on the Lord, looking to Him for when to move and when to wait? When we do this we can proceed with confidence in the will of the Lord and with His hand blessing and empowering what He is leading us to do.

I want to move with the cloud and when the cloud is not moving I want to remain put. For years I dreamed my dreams and spent precious energy and resources pursuing them in vain. I must wait on the cloud. I urge you to do the same in our own life, in your family, and in your church.

Lord, forgive us for being so impatient and for headstrong. I ask you to give us a heart to seek you, to wait on you when we need to wait and to move forward when we need to move forward. Let us move with the cloud.