It made no difference whether the Cloud hovered over The Dwelling for two days or a month or a year, as long as the Cloud was there, they were there. And when the Cloud went up, they got up and marched. They camped at God‘s command and they marched at God‘s command. They lived obediently by God‘s orders as delivered by Moses.
-Numbers 9:22-23 (MSG)
What a great thing it must have been for the Israelites to have God provide direction and guidance in the form of a cloud. If the cloud moved, they followed it. If it stopped and hovered, they stayed put.
If only it were that simple today.
I figure if there were a list of the top questions that Christians today ask God and wonder aloud, one of the most occurring has to be, “God, what do you want me to do with my life?” We desperately want to follow God’s plan for our future, but at the same time we are desperately confused. We are begging for a sign like the Israelites had to determine our next step.
I wonder if the problem might be that because we focus on the future so much, we miss the present entirely. We are so enamored with the NEXT that we completely overlook the NOW. Farsightedness versus nearsightedness, if you will.
If you notice with the Israelites, the verses note that the people stayed and marched at God’s command. They were ready and anxious to move onto the next place when God said so, but also were prepared to stop and direct their attention to that specific place when he said so. And it didn’t matter if it was a for a day, a month, or a year. If the cloud stayed, so did they. And right then and there is where their focus was until God said otherwise.
Sometimes we forget that we were put right here at this exact moment in time for a purpose. Sure, God may have an amazing, big move in the future for us. But if our “cloud” isn’t moving, neither should we, no matter how long it may stay in one place. Our focus should be on him and where he is staying or going, not the future direction we think is best.
You want to know your purpose? Ask God what he wants you to do right here, right now. Then, when he’s ready, you will be prepared to successfully take the next step too.
