Ever relocated your family for a job assignment? We moved several times while in the military. Each move required packing up our belongings, emotions, and what was familiar. Uncertainties of when we would move, where we would go, and how long we would remain was part of military life. We were at the mercy of orders handed down from Command. We learned to depend on God for comfort, wisdom, and guidance.
Are you in the process of a move?
Are you packing up your belongings, emotions, and all that is familiar?
If your answer is yes, let me comfort you with a truth. God is already where you are going. He has your back. He is working out all the details and preparing new friendships… He is also working within you a deeper dependence on Him. He wants you to be settled in Him when your circumstances feel unsettling.
God shows us in Numbers 9:15-23 how He moved the Israelites through a cycle in an effort to grow them in complete dependence, obedience, and trust in Him.
God used a cloud by day and the appearance of fire by night (representing His presence) as a sign for when they were to move, where they were to move to, and how long they were to remain. If the cloud was settled upon the tabernacle, they were to camp and remain, but if it had moved, they were to set out.
This was the cycle upon God’s command:
Set Out-Camp-Remain
Set Out-Camp-Remain
Sometimes they would remain 2 days, a month, or a year…
I imagine the Israelites waking each morning, wiping their sleepy eyes, stumbling to the entrance of their tents, and slowly pulling the curtain back to see if God’s presence was settled upon the tabernacle, or if it had moved.
They looked for His presence and leading daily.
Can we say we are doing the same thing today? Are we wiping the sleepy off of our eyes expecting to see Him each morning? Are we trusting Him as He leads us?
Relocating can make us weary. It can lead us to shift our focus away from God and onto ourselves. When that happens, we can feel misled, unsure of our decision, and unsettled.
But, if we choose to apply Proverbs 3:5-6, we will find a settling peace and comfort in knowing we can trust God even when things do not make sense and they are hard.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths. (HCSB)
The Lord will be at our side. He is a friend to the upright and blesses the home of the righteous. So, no matter where we are in the cycle of setting out-setting up- or remaining, God is at work. Look for His presence and leading daily. He is faithful to provide comfort, wisdom, and guidance.
