God is On Your Journey With You
Exodus 13:21-22 The Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.
Sometimes you read a story in the Bible and you kind of gloss over it without realising how powerful and profound it is. Here’s a great example.
The Israelites have just escaped from slavery in Egypt and Pharaoh and his army – the greatest army on the earth at the time – are about to chase them and destroy them. Scary times.
But here’s something interesting that we’re told about how God behaved in this situation:
The Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. (Exodus 13:21-22)
Well, that’s not quite true, because in the next chapter, we read that God positioned this pillar behind the Israelites, between them and the pursuing Egyptian army to protect them.
That being said, for the next 40 years, that pillar of cloud and fire never left them in the wilderness.
Well, okay, I guess most of us have heard that story a hundred times. Yeah sure … pillar of cloud by day, pillar of fire by night. I get it. But do you? Really?
You see what’s so powerful about this is that back in that day – and in fact, still today – all the other gods that other nations worshipped, lived in temples that had been built on hilltops. The gods didn’t come to the people, indeed they couldn’t, so the people had to go to their temples to worship them.
But the God of Israel went on the journey with His people. Back then, that was a mind-blowingly radical concept. In fact if you travel to countries where there is a lot of idol worship, it’s still a mind-blowingly radical concept.
This idea that God is on the journey with you, to protect you from your enemies, to give you shelter from the harsh sun by day, to give you warmth and light by night.
But that’s exactly what’s going on in your life right now. If you believe in Jesus, the Presence of God never leaves you. God is on your journey with you to guide, protect, shelter and love you every step of the way just as He was with Israel.
Only now, now He’s put His Spirit in you … and He will never leave you or forsake you. So … the upshot of all that is that every step you take, you can take in the confidence that your God, your mighty, loving, powerful, wonderful God, is on your journey with you.
You can actually live your life as though it’s true. Because it is.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
Blessed by this devotion?
Share it with a friend!
Respond