"Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out." - Numbers 9:21b
God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, and they had to pass through
the desert on their way to the Promised Land. God was their guide by
means of a cloud that appeared overhead. When it moved, they moved. When
it stopped, they stopped - sometimes a day, a week, even a year.
Imagine living with the uncertainty of this situation. One day you work
at getting your "house" in order, only to have to pick up the stakes and
move. Your ability to plan is totally gone. But even greater is the
temptation to move when the cloud did not move because you felt it was
time to move. For the Israelites, perhaps the grass was no longer green.
Perhaps the water was not easily accessible. Perhaps the bugs were a
problem. Whatever the case, they were strictly prohibited from moving if
the cloud did not move.
It is still the same today. We are not to move unless the Holy
Spirit instructs us to do so. We are not to make that business deal on
the basis of whether or not it makes sense, but on the leading of the
Holy Spirit's "cloud" in our life. It is a difficult process to move
only when we are directed, and to remain if we are not. The pressure is
always upon us to move, to plan, to act. But if we act, we may move into
a place where the presence of God may not be. Hence, the rub. The
Christian workplace believer must learn to move when God says move; it
is a sign of complete surrender and dependence on God's Spirit to direct
our steps.
Ask God today if you are sitting under His cloud. Or, have you moved
when He said stand still? He will show you.
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