When You Move, We Move

Reference: Numbers 9:15 On the day the Tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered it. But from evening until morning the cloud over the Tabernacle looked like a pillar of fire. 16 This was the regular pattern; at night the cloud that covered the Tabernacle had the appearance of fire. 17 Whenever the cloud lifted from over the sacred tent, the people of Israel would break camp and follow it. And wherever the cloud settled, the people of Israel would set up camp. 18 In this way, they traveled and camped at the Lord’s command wherever he told them to go. Then they remained in their camp as long as the cloud stayed over the Tabernacle. 19 If the cloud remained over the Tabernacle for a long time, the Israelites stayed and performed their duty to the Lord. 20 Sometimes the cloud would stay over the Tabernacle for only a few days, so the people would stay for only a few days, as the Lord commanded. Then at the Lord’s command they would break camp and move on. 21 Sometimes the cloud stayed only overnight and lifted the next morning. But day or night, when the cloud lifted, the people broke camp and moved on. 22 Whether the cloud stayed above the Tabernacle for two days, a month, or a year, the people of Israel stayed in camp and did not move on. But as soon as it lifted, they broke camp and moved on. 23 So they camped or traveled at the Lord’s command, and they did whatever the Lord told them through Moses. 

Observation: It is amazing how committed the Children of Israel were to stay close to the presence of God. When He moved, they moved. When He stayed, they stayed--no matter what. Could you imagine the frustration of setting up camp and then breaking it just the next morning? Or, being stuck somewhere you hated for months on end waiting for that cloud to move?

That cloud was God’s glory and they weren’t going anywhere without it.
We need to be as desirous and faithful to following the presence of God. If there is anything that the Church of Jesus Christ does wrong it is that we move when we want to move and stay in place when He wants us to move. For some Churches it is all about trying out something new; following the latest trend or fad. It doesn’t matter if God is leading them there, it is where they want to go.
For others, it all about tradition; how it always has been done. God may have moved on decades ago but we want to hang out where it is safe and comfortable.
What ought to matter to us, more than anything else, is the cloud of God’s glory and the fire of His presence. We ought to work so very hard to stay where His presence is and move only when it moves. Otherwise, as Moses said, how are we different that all the other people of the world? What made them different, what makes us different, and powerful, is the presence of God in our midst. We can’t afford to go on without it.  

Application/Confession: I want to do what will bring success for the church I pastor. It is easy to look for schemes and plans that have the promise of success from man’s perspective but may not be what God has in mind for us. I have to always remember that we are to move with His presence--not before or after. It is His presence in our midst that is the only success strategy that matters. 

PRAYER: Lord, give me the patience to wait for You to move. Please grace me with the courage to move with You I am reluctant. May I, as a person, and we, as a church, always completely value, honor and pursue Your presence in our midst.