Seen the Cloud? See the Glory!
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If you are a follower of Christ—if you are one of God’s children—He promises to go before you, not just some of the time, but all the time.(1) When we walk in His way and according to His will, He guarantees that every step we take is sure and secure—even when it doesn’t feel that way!(2) As long as we are walking in His way to the best of our understanding, we can trust that every situation and circumstance—whether He placed it there or not—will work for our ultimate good, His purpose, and His glory.(3)
Let’s consider an example of this truth. From the day the Israelites left Egypt, the Lord gave His people a constant reminder of His presence. He sent a pillar of cloud to guide them by day and a pillar of fire by night, so they could travel without losing sight of His leading. In Exodus we read, “The LORD did not remove the pillar of cloud or the pillar of fire from the sight of the people.”(4) This visible reminder was with them for the entire month since their journey began.
Have you ever wished you could see that cloud or pillar of fire going before you? Or found yourself thinking, “It must have been easy for them—they just had to look up and see God’s guidance with their own eyes?”
When we think like that, we miss two important truths. First, the fact is that we actually have the greater advantage! The Israelites were not indwelt by the Spirit of God. They had to look up because He wasn’t inside them to guide them. But as followers of Christ, we have His Spirit within us at all times, and Jesus promised that He would guide us in everything.(5)
Second, the apostle Paul reminds us that we are to walk by faith, not by sight.(6) And Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”(7) In other words, we now have the equivalent of that cloud and pillar of fire within us, guiding us by faith every step of the way.
The cloud and pillar had gone before the Israelites as they camped at Pi-hahiroth; it had moved behind them to protect them when the Egyptian army approached. It led them to Marah and Elim and continued to guide them through the Wilderness of Sin. Yet, despite this constant reminder of His presence, the people grumbled and complained. Even though God’s presence was visible and had never left them, they lost sight of Him.(8)
Their sins—rebelliousness, faithlessness, bitterness, and anger—blinded them to His presence, deafened them to His promises, and hardened them against the confidence of His purpose. And that is our reality as well. Sin blinds, deafens, hardens, and separates us from the God who loves us, indwells us, and surrounds us with His presence. Though He was right there with them, just as He is with us, they could no longer see Him for who He truly was.
So Moses, through Aaron, called them back, saying, “Come into His presence.” In essence, he was saying, “Turn away from yourselves; turn away from the things that have blinded and distracted you, and turn to the Lord.
“He has heard your complaints; now hear His reply! Have you convinced yourselves that you will perish or that this journey will end in disaster? You’ve looked at your circumstances and tried to determine your reality. But the truth is, you don’t know the reality of your situation until you’ve heard from God.”
Often, God doesn’t tell us what we want to hear, but He will always tell us what we need to hear. And when we hear His voice, He will require a response—a change, a step of obedience.
As Aaron spoke to the people that day, they turned from their tents—from themselves—and toward the desert, where the pillar of cloud stood before them. Then their eyes were opened, and they saw the awesome glory of the Lord within the cloud.
On our journeys, have we, too, become blinded to His presence? Have we allowed unconfessed sin to linger, turning our eyes from Him to focus on our circumstances? Or have our circumstances spiraled out of control because of that unconfessed sin?
He hasn’t left us. He hasn’t abandoned us. He has always been there! The solution is as simple for us as it was for the Israelites: we must turn our hearts back to Him. We must turn away from ourselves and toward Him. We must repent of our sin and look to Him again—and we will once more see His awesome glory leading us, even in the midst of the troubling circumstances which He promises to use for His glory!
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You can read about God’s response to the Israelites in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Exodus.
Portions of this post are excerpted from chapter 12 of my book, The Journey Begins. For more information about the book, click here.
(1) Deuteronomy 31:8 (ESV)
“It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you nor forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
(5) John 16:13 (CEV)
(7) John 20:29 (ESV)
Then Moses said to Aaron, "Say this to the entire community of Israel: 'Come into the LORD's presence, and hear his reply to your complaints.'" And as Aaron spoke to the people, they looked out toward the desert. Within the guiding cloud, they could see the awesome glory of the LORD.
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