THE LORD WILL TAKE THE LEAD
The Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years. After coming out of Egypt and before they were allowed into the Promised Land, God’s people marched through the desert without a permanent place to stay for four decades. And it was all their fault. When the 12 spies had gone into the Promised Land the first time and all but Caleb and Joshua brought back a frightening report about the numerous foreign nations and their fortified cities, the people doubted the Lord’s ability to deliver the Canaanites into their hands. And because of their doubt, God pronounced that they would have to wander in the desert for 40 straight years before he would take them into the land that he had promised to one day give them. But don’t think of this “wandering” as a confused group of people straying in any and every direction. And don’t think of it as if the Israelites were lost and didn’t know where to go. The Israelites weren’t confused and they weren’t lost. They knew exactly where they were supposed to go every day of those 40 years in the desert. But they didn’t follow their own intuition or rely on their own abilities to navigate the harsh terrain of the various deserts south of Canaan. They didn’t vote on which way to go or even follow the way Moses thought was best. Instead, the Lord took the lead and the people had to wait for and rely on his decision every day.
Scripture describes this 40 years of wandering in Numbers 9. And notice what the Israelites were forced to do because the Lord decided to lead them through the desert in the way that he did: “On the day the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire. That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire. Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. At the LORD's command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the LORD's order and did not set out. Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the LORD's command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out. Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out. Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out. At the LORD's command they encamped, and at the LORD's command they set out. They obeyed the LORD's order, in accordance with his command through Moses.”
The Israelites had to wait for the Lord to take the lead. They weren’t allowed to suggest a time or a place in which to move. They couldn’t influence the Lord one way or another how long they would stay in one place. They couldn’t even plan ahead! The only thing they could do was plan to be ready. Once the cloud of the Lord settled in an area, they had to be prepared to pack everything up at a moment’s notice and head out the very next day. But they also had to be patient if that day of departure didn’t come for an entire year after that. The Israelites were forced to completely rely on their God for direction. He would show them where to go. And he would decide when they would do it.
That would have really frustrated me! If I were a member of the Israelite nation during those 40 years, waiting for the cloud to lift up or to come down would have driven me crazy! Because I like to plan ahead. I like to be prepared in every way that I can. I like to have everything in order so that it all goes according to schedule. I would have had a hard time simply waiting for the Lord’s command. And I’m sure it would have been difficult for many of you as well. Think of some of the frustrations that the Israelites would have had to deal with: There would be places that they would like, areas in which they had settled down and had just gotten comfortable, but then the cloud of the Lord will rise above the tabernacle and they would have to immediately pick up and leave. And then there would be those places that they would despise, parts of the country that they would have liked to get out of as quickly as possible, but it would be in those situations when they would have to remain in that spot for an extended period of time. They certainly had their own opinions on where to go and what to do. And they undoubtedly thought certain places where better to settle than others. But it didn’t matter. They could try to plan and guess and strive and wish and plead all they wanted. But if the Lord took the lead in a different direction at a different time, all they could do was follow.
Each one of us has plenty of our own thoughts and plans and ideas in this life, don’t we? Each one of us has thoughts about where things should go, plans about how things should be, and ideas about when those things should be done. Jobs, vacations, purchases, chores, activities, and the time period in which they should all be carried out largely fall to our decisions and choices. The Lord gives us the responsibility and the capacity to live our lives to his glory in whatever way we see fit. We are able to praise and thank him in our lives in a variety of different ways. But if the Lord takes the lead in a different direction, all we can do is follow.
And doesn’t that irritate you when that happens? When all of your intentions and plans and hard work are apparently not what the Lord had in mind? It’s almost depressing when we can’t do what we think needs to be done! But let’s be careful. Let’s be careful about our attitude when our plans don’t happen to match up with the plans of the Lord. That frustration and that disappointment can stem from a little bit of arrogance at times - and maybe even a little bit of doubt in the Lord’s power. That irritation we have when the Lord is leading us in a different direction can be produced by the prideful thought that our plans would have worked if only we were just given the chance! Our ideas would have been better, but the Lord didn’t allow them to happen! Our time frame would have been the most beneficial, but the Lord let an opportunity slip us by! Be careful not to be so confident in your own decisions and strategies and ideas that you end up thinking that they are better than whatever the Lord has in mind. Because when the Lord will take the lead, he does so for good reason. If he sees that you are headed the wrong way, if he knows that your plans will not end up working for your good, he will not hesitate to turn your around. He will immediately point you in the right direction. How could we be mad or frustrated or disappointed at God for doing that for us?
In the book of Acts there are many different stories about the apostle Paul going to many different places with the gospel. Acts 16 says he planned on going into Asia Minor and Bithynia to spread this message of Christ’s death and resurrection. But the Lord took the lead in a different direction - more than once. “Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”
Paul certainly had good intentions, didn’t he? His thoughts were God-pleasing and his plans were commendable. They just didn’t match up with what God had in mind. The Holy Spirit first prevented him from going into Asia Minor. But Paul wasn’t upset. Instead he went around that part of the world and tried to go into Bithynia. And when the Spirit didn’t allow him to go their either, he simply turned around and found another place in which the Word needed to be heard. And, of course, while there the Lord sent Paul a vision of a Macedonian man pleading for him to bring the gospel to the western side of the Aegean Sea. The Lord was taking the lead. He had thwarted Paul’s plans on two separate occasions but he also opened up opportunities elsewhere. The Lord was leading him in the way he wanted his zealous missionary to go. And Paul didn’t have a problem with that. He understood that the Lord knew best. And he realized that this Savior who had suffered for him, this Savior who had died for him, this Savior who had risen from the dead for him would always do things for the best interests of his children and for the good of his gospel. Paul was content to follow the Lord’s lead - wherever it may have taken him.
We can be just as content to follow the Lord no matter where he leads us. Because we don’t have an incompetent trail guide who has no sense of direction. We don’t have a selfish decision-maker who is only concerned about his own comfort and personal preferences. We have our Savior in the lead. We have the one who led Caesar Augusta to proclaim a census for his entire kingdom so that Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem and give birth to their firstborn son in the town of David. We have the one who led Mary and Joseph down to Egypt to escape the clutches of King Herod. We have the one who led sinners to trust in his words of comfort, who led the sick to come to him for healing, who led his disciples to understand the Truth. We have the one leading us who allowed the mob to lead him to the high priest on Good Friday morning and the crowds to lead him to Pilate and the soldiers to lead him to the cross. We have the one who led his Father to forsake him as he hung there bleeding to death. We have the one who led his victory campaign into hell so that he could proclaim his triumph to the devil. We have the one who led a couple women named Mary to the tomb on Sunday morning so that they could see for themselves what he had done. We have the one who led his disciples onto a hill in Galilee so they could witness his ascension into heaven. We have one who leads us to trust in his forgiveness even for those sins of arrogance and doubt when it comes to God’s plans. We have the one leading us now who will one day lead us to heaven. We can be content to follow our Lord’s lead. He’s used to leading his people. He’s good at it! There’s no one else we should want in lead - not even ourselves. Because just like Paul, we don’t always know what is best. But our Leader certainly does.
During those hot dry days in the middle of the desert for 40 long years, the Israelites couldn’t move until the cloud lifted up over the tabernacle and showed them the way to go. They had to wait. They had to be patient. They had to trust that the Lord would lift that cloud when it was exactly the right time. The cloud has been hanging over this particular house of worship for quite a few years now. We thought it would move by now; we expected it would move by now; we wanted it to move by now! But the cloud still remains in place. The Lord has decided in his loving wisdom to keep this congregation in the same location a little longer than we have planned. But that’s OK. That’s OK! The Lord is still in the lead. He knows where this group of Christians needs to be. He knows what we need to do. And he knows when we need to do it. There is no rush. There is no reason to become uneasy. The Lord is out in front - always in complete control. He will lift the cloud when it is time and give us opportunities to spread his Word in many different ways - either here or somewhere else. And so keep planning. Keep praying. Keep working hard. And trust that the Lord will bless our efforts according to his will. He truly wants his gospel to be spread and his Word to be heard. And he will take the lead to make sure it is done at exactly the right time.
Amen.
“Oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments and his paths beyond tracing out! For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.” - Rom. 11:33,36
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