Preparation For Promise – Cloudy Faith

‘On the day the tabernacle, the tent of the covenant law, 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. ‘ Numbers 9:15-17

Last week, Pastor Jeremy Smith from Crosspoint Church continued the Sermon Series, Preparation For Promise, A Study on the Book of Numbers.

When you start to make an in-depth study, some of the books of the Bible that seem to be dry and unexciting all of a sudden become alive with practical ideas that can make a profound impact on our lives, and this study is no exception.

We continue our journey with the Israelites in the wilderness, and we find that at night the Lord presents Himself as a pillar of fire, giving them light during the darkness, and He presents Himself as a cloud during the day.

I like the picture we have with our Lord being a fire that will help us to see in the darkness. The Israelites are in the desert, and I guess that at night it gets very dark, with no street lights to light up the sky, just the pillar of light that our God provides.

During the day, He covers the camp as a cloud shielding them from the day’s heat—what a loving picture of God.

When it was time for the camp to move, “the cloud lifted from above the tent, the Israelites set out.”

I often wonder if there was a delay between when the Lord and the people moved. I also wonder if when the cloud moved, the people didn’t move until the sun’s heat caused them to move.

I reflect on my life and think about how easy it is for me to become complacent in my walk with the Lord. And when things get tough or hot, I tend to seek out the Lord instead of proactively living my life in His will, where the blessing is.

‘O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches.’ Psalms 63:1-6

Do you proactively seek the Lord? Or is He a thought for you when things get tough? Do you seek Him out only when the things around you heat up?

‘But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.’ Matthew 6:33-34

I think sometimes; we may have this upside down. We measure our satisfaction in our life based on what we want or how things are going in our lives. We measure our happiness based on what’s happening instead of experiencing joy based on who He is.

‘Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. ‘ 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

There is only one way we can do this; we need the Holy Spirit in our hearts to achieve this. To participate in the blessings God wants us to have in this life, we must willingly participate in the preparation or process.

He won’t drag us through this process or force us to do anything.

A mistake many of us make is that we seem to think there is a huge epiphany that needs to happen before we get going.

He wants us to start with what we have, right where we are.

When we start to work with what He provides us, He will increase our capacity as our faith grows. We must be sensitive to the Spirit inside us and move on those promptings.

‘ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ ‘ Matthew 25:23

In this walk of faith, God won’t always show us the whole journey. So there will be times when we have to step out with the next step, and that is all we have. But we take those steps because:

1. God knows the way. And like the cloud moving from the tent, He always goes before us.
2. God knows the why. Being a Christian requires faith and trust in the Lord.
3. God is with us. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit makes a home in our hearts. The Lord is always with us.

‘What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ Romans 8:31-39

So what do we do while waiting for the Lord to move?

‘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 9:23

Heavenly Father, thank You.

Thank You for Your grace, mercy, and forgiveness.

I pray that You will continue to give me the desire to serve You by serving others.

I pray that You will continue to give me the desire to study Your Word and help me to understand it to help those around me.

Thank You for allowing me to serve You; I look forward to being with You for eternity.

In the name of Jesus, I pray, Amen!! 🙏❤️