The Bible tells us in the Old Testament book of Numbers, the ninth chapter, that as the children of Israel were moving towards the Promised Land after being in slavery in Egypt for a long time, the Lord had given them instructions on the construction of a Tabernacle, something like a church, only mobile. The Tabernacle was the place where God would meet with Moses and the people as they moved across the desert lands. Above the Tabernacle, God had made his presence known in a pillar of smoke and fire as the assurance of His presence and leadership in their lives. As the people of Israel moved across the land, the Lord would direct them as to when they were to move and when they were to make camp and stay a while where He had directed them. The account in Numbers tells us that “the cloud covering the Tabernacle at night looked like a cloud of fire, in the day it looked like a cloud of smoke. Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tabernacle tent, the Israelites set out. Whenever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. Whether the cloud stayed over the Tabernacle for two days, or a month, or a year, or even just for overnight, the Israelites would remain in camp. But when the cloud moved, they would set out and go to the next place that the Lord was sending them.” This was the way the Lord led them for some 40 years in the wilderness until they came to the edge of the Promised Land, the land that the Lord had promised to give to the Israelites to make their permanent homes. Thus, when the cloud stood over the tent, they stayed, but when it moved, they followed it. You see, the cloud represented God’s presence and leadership in their lives. As it moved, they moved, following God to where He was leading them.
Now there is a lesson for us to learn in this story about the people of Israel, and that is this. The people of Israel only moved at the Lord’s command. They waited for His directions. Here is our lesson. We need to listen for the Lord’s direction in our lives and only move when He tells us to move, or do what He is directing us to do. We need to follow Him and His will in our lives and not get ahead of Him. You know, God doesn’t tell us everything He wants us to do all at once or we might have a heart attack. Or we might decide, “Are you kidding, Lord? I don’t want to do that! That is way too much for me to consider.” That’s why He only tells us to take one step at a time. We also don’t need to “tell Him” that “we know a better way”, or that “we know a shortcut” to get to where He wants us to go or do what He wants us to do. God knows the way He wants us to go and He knows the timing in which He wants us to accomplish His will. He also knows what we will encounter if we get ahead of Him and He knows what we will avoid if we just follow Him, no questions asked. Proverbs 3:5,6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct you paths.”
Ten missionaries met in New York to get on an ocean liner to their destinations. They were all “faith missionaries”, they had no missionary board to take care of them financially. No one had made a pledge to send them any money, they were just “traveling by faith”, knowing that the Lord would take care of them. This attitude was all right in the beginning, but then about half way across the Atlantic, they began to wonder where they would go once they reached India. But they were bound to pray about it. One night the Lord gave one of the female missionaries a dream. She saw herself standing on a tiny little plank that was floating in the ocean. Absolutely nothing was in front of her, nor behind her, nor to either side. But as she lifted her foot to take a step, another little board appeared just in front of her, ready for her to step on. Then she saw another and another. Each time as she was about to take a step, a board would appear. It was God’s way of comforting her and telling her that she was to trust Him for one step at a time. And this was how the Lord led her in India, one step at a time.
