God’s cloud has a silver lining

August 9, 2007

By William E. Richardson

“Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, after that the children of Israel would journey; and in the place where the cloud settled, there the children of Israel would pitch their tents” (Numbers 9:17, NKJV).

Following their exodus from Egypt, the Israelites traveled toward a place they’d never been before. They’d only heard about the Promised Land. They had no map, no compass, no prewritten directions.

Yet, they knew exactly when to move forward and in which direction. They also knew when not to advance. The cloud of God’s presence guided them. The pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night never misled them.

Their long journey called for both patience and preparedness. On the one hand, they needed to wait for God’s timing instead of running ahead (Numbers 14:44,45). On the other hand, they had to stay ready to pack and move when God said.

What about the journey to the Christians’ “promised land”? We cannot see what’s ahead. We have questions along the way about our jobs, our children, our marriages and our retirement years. On our journey we may become delayed by forks in the road, distracted by detours, and confused by dead ends. How often have you asked, “Do I take this path?” “Should I proceed or slow down?” or “Which direction now?”

While we wouldn’t want to trade places with those Egyptian slaves-turned-desert-wanderers, it would be nice to have their constant assurance of God’s clear guidance. The Israelites’ cloud-following journey had a multi-level silver lining. Their experience speaks to us. I see three lessons from the cloud.

First silver-lining fact: God’s help in the past assures us He’ll be there in the future. With 10 powerful plagues, God freed His people from Egypt. He brought them through the Red Sea. Every step of the Israelites’ journey provided additional proof God would guide them. You and I also have plenty of past guidance on which to base our faith for the future.

Second silver-lining fact: We need a healthy balance of patience and preparedness. We sometimes question when we’ll move ahead in our journey. In those times we need to patiently trust God. Meanwhile, we must stay in constant readiness to move ahead. While our patience may not always be perfect, God’s timing always is.

Third silver-lining fact: We don’t always need a map. Every day our next day is uncertain. But our sense of urgent need should draw us closer to God. The days we find ourselves looking to the cloud hour by hour and minute by minute are when God stretches our faith and we grow spiritually.

On any day, the Israelites didn’t know how soon the cloud would move or which direction it would lead. All they needed to know was that God, who guided them, knew the future.

When we can’t see ahead, we can still keep our eyes on the One whose guidance will get us safely to our destination.

William E. Richardson is senior pastor of Afton (Iowa) Assembly of God.