Do you ever wish the guidance of God was as clear and seemingly simple as it was for the Israelites in their desert wandering’s. In Numbers 9:15-23 it says that when the Tabernacle was set up the cloud covered it. At night it looked like fire. Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tabernacle the Israelites set out: whenever it settled they encamped.
This visible form of guidance seemed so simple. But we don’t have such a visible sign to guide our steps. It seems so much harder for us to determine God’s guidance in our daily affairs.
But wait a minute. Notice what it says in verse 23: “At the Lord’s command they encamped and at the Lord’s command they set out.” They obeyed the Lord’s command given through Moses. Whether the Lord’s command is verbal, in-scripted or visible, like the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night, we should obey. If we do all God has told us to do and not do anything He has forbidden, the vast majority of our decisions would be clear. If we decided to surrender fully to God and seek to please Him in all our ways, most of the remaining decisions would not be difficult
It’s been said: “If we obeyed, surrendered and set our hearts or our desires on pleasing God, that would cover 95 percent of God’s will. We are free then to do whatever our heart directs in the remaining areas.” At first this seems like an open door to gratify our sinful desires, but don’t you think the strength of the 95 percent of commitment overrides this tendency? I do.
God is committed to directing our ways. We just need to keep in step with the Holy Spirit.
