Moses Shared Examples of God’s Guidance
In our last session we considered the pillars of cloud and fire God provided to lead Israel out of Egypt, through the desert, and on to the promised land. If you missed the article you can find it here: God is our Guide – What path do I choose? Today we will discover that Moses shared additional examples of God’s guidance, and those accounts can provide encouragement in our walk with God.
God guides through His faithful presence.
As my years have increased my tolerance for heights has decreased. That presents a challenge when homeownership demands proficiency at working from a ladder. My lovely bride prefers that on such outings I include her as the anchor. She faithfully holds the ladder, and I do my best to toss the gutter clutter away from her. I am not sure what she could do to catch me should I fall, or how she might stop a toppling ladder, but her presence at the bottom rung gives reassurance that all is well.
Take this to heart—God is on the job for us 24×7. He provides, as the writer of Hebrews describes (Hebrews 6:19), an anchor for our souls. Developing confidence in His faithful presence is an early step in learning to follow His guidance. Moses recorded several instances where that faithful presence was displayed as God interacted with Israel.
Mentions of God’s Presence
1. Exodus 13:21-22; 40:36-37; Numbers 9:17-23; 10:33-34; Deuteronomy 1:33
We’ve covered this one. God’s pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night guided and protected Israel. Any doubts about His presence could be instantly resolved with a glance toward the sky.
2. Exodus 23:23
God gave the promise that He would go before Israel and show the way into Canaan. Conquering uncharted territory becomes less intimidating when the One in front knows the lay of the land and has full awareness of the surroundings. God served as Israel’s GPS—God Positioning System—and directed their journey. No chance of getting lost or taking a wrong turn as long as the people yielded to God. His presence could be counted on as the challenges unfolded.
3. Deuteronomy 8:2; 8:7; 8:15; 26:9; 29:5
At the border of Canaan Moses looked backward to remind the people of God’s presence and faithful guidance through the wilderness. Canaan lay ahead, and, with God’s proven track record on the journey from Egypt, the nation held the hope that His presence would continue to accompany them as new adventures arose.
As we review our lives and the milestones on our journey, we can learn to recognize God’s presence and give thanks for His direction. And we, too, can find hope that He remains with us in tomorrow’s battles.
God leads according to people’s abilities.
Moses might be the poster child for reluctant acceptance of the role God had prepared for Him. His excuses and God’s responses are detailed in Exodus 3-4 for those who wish to review. I attempted many times to tell God, “No! I am not ready for that.” And He gently answers, “And you never will be, but I am here, and I will strengthen you. Get moving!” God blesses our baby steps of faith, my friend, and we must never forget that He knows us better than we know ourselves.
Right out of the gate, as Israel marched out of Egyptian territory, God directed them to take the long way to Canaan. Human reasoning concludes the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, but God knew better.
Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, “The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” Hence God led the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up in martial array from the land of Egypt. Exodus 13:17-18 NASB
God knows all about us.
Our Father knows our abilities, where we are mentally and spiritually, and how ready we may be for that new assignment. Just as He knew how much Israel could handle after their departure from slavery. Moses wrote that God guided the wilderness journey in stages.
Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by stages…according to the command of the LORD… Exodus 17:1 NASB Selected, Emphasis added.
And God guides us in a similar fashion. As our spiritual muscles grow stronger, He adds increasingly responsible assignments. And we aren’t given God’s complete plan at the start lest we invest our time pondering over and worrying about how to handle that challenge coming thirty years down the road. J. H. Jowett writes:
The way is lit up as we tread it. There is no such thing in life as a road blazing with light from end to end…The lamps are lit one by one as the traveler arrives at each part of the road. Light is given for the immediate piece of the journey. It is not far-off issues that are illumined, but the place of my feet.[1]
David penned words that resonate with my heart, and I hope with yours also.
The LORD is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust. Psalms 103:13-14 NLT
I treasure the moments in the workshop with my children and my grandchildren. With the end goal in mind, I rely on my woodworking proficiency to lay out the steps. Truthfully, I could build the project without their help, but where is the fellowship in that? I must remain vigilant, watch out for their safety, and consider what steps they might handle versus which I should do for them. And joy is shared all around when the job is done. See the spiritual parallels? God does not need us, but He chooses to include us. For His joy as well as ours. Relax. He knows our limitations.
God orchestrates specifics.
God quite often directed that someone take a specific action or avoid a certain choice. Think of Adam. The garden of Eden, planted for his enjoyment and filled with trees, fruits and nuts was Adam’s to enjoy, but tasting fruit from that one tree was a no-no (Genesis 2:16-17) Or consider God’s command to Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on top a mountain in Moriah which God would reveal only upon Abraham’s arrival (Genesis 22:2).
Abraham grew old, as we all do, and realized that his son Isaac needed a wife if the family line was to continue. Genesis 24 records that Abraham entrusted the marriage negotiations to his oldest servant, likely Eliezer, and dispatched him to the land of Abraham’s birth to secure a bride from among the extended family. Interested readers can learn more in the Bible Characters section. See the biographical sketch: Eliezer.
This servant sought God’s specific guidance then took the only logical next step—He waited! Spoiler alert—God answered the servant’s specific request in a way that only God could answer. Waiting for God’s response is not wasted time. God builds our faith while we wait. God may even assign us an intermediate task while we wait.
We want it now!
Our world is all about NOW! Forget any waiting! Down time is lost time! Those who can master the art of multi-tasking outrace their peers in our aggressive society. The message of the day resounds, “Hurry up. Must go faster!” And we court disaster when we bring that human urgency into our search for God’s guidance. He has His own schedule. His response to our requests for guidance arrives according to His timing.
I may grow impatient with the waiting and jump toward the choice I think most likely, especially if I’m wrestling with panic. But God has surprised me so many times when His direction leads to a novel solution I had not considered.
Learning to wait
If I feel pressure to make a choice, and God has not responded to my request for guidance, then I say, “No!” I wish I could testify that I adopted this method in my youth, but that would be untrue. I often rushed ahead of God and created mess after mess as I derived multiple DIY resolutions for my situations. And, usually, I only dug the hole deeper.
Author John Wanamaker suggests that we gauge the speed of our decision-making on the magnitude of the choice and its possible consequences. For example, choosing a mate ought to tax our mental processor a bit more than selecting a new pair of shoes.
Go slow in any plan that is irrevocable and unchangeable at any time or under any circumstances after it begins.[2]
F. B Meyer adds his insight:
Your life is wonderfully interesting to Him; every step of it is the subject of His thought. It will be a sore mistake and wrong for you to act without being sure of what He wishes you to do. And if you are not sure what that is, it is evident that the time has not yet come for you to move. Stay just where you are.[3]
God operates from a higher plane than we can unravel.
The Bible includes God’s directions to so many people, and we may struggle to understand those directions. Why would God choose this? What was God thinking? How does this align with His stated purposes elsewhere? And we have to admit that we are stumped quite often. God has His reasons, and while we may not understand His guidance in those moments, we can trust that He knows so much more than we do. Consider the words of Isaiah:
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9 NASB
With the completed Bible in hand and diligent study we can surmise answers for some of our questions, though not all. Knowing the end of the story gives insight. For example, we have an inkling of what God had in mind when He called Abram to leave his home and his family. Turns out Lot, the nephew, was about as much fun on the trip as swatting flies out of the potato salad at a picnic!
And then there are those Ten Commandments with #2 prohibiting the manufacture or use of any graven image to represent God. We know from our study that most of the cultures of the day worshiped idols, images created by men to represent their supposed gods. God made clear that He was not a god like those others. He cannot be accurately represented by any object, and Israel had to learn from Him how to worship Him.
Trusting and Obeying God
But what about when we haven’t a clue as to the why or the purpose of God’s guidance? Given that God is omniscient, that He knows all events past, present, and future, He is best suited to direct our paths to keep us on track, away from danger, and stepping forward with His plan. The guidance may not seem pleasant. It may be quite confusing, but God knows what He is about. We aren’t graded on understanding. We are graded on obeying. Author and pastor Erwin Lutzer writes:
Only a God who knows all things and who has infinite wisdom could draft a plan that would anticipate virtually every situation, every sin, every failure. God has done just that.[4]
The Wrap Up
It’s time to wrap this up with a review. Moses revealed to us that God’s guidance appeared in tangible forms as Israel journeyed with Him through the wilderness.
- God guides through His faithful presence.
- God leads according to people’s abilities.
- God orchestrates specifics.
- God operates from a higher plane than we can unravel.
[1] Jowett, J. H. Springs in the Desert: Studies in the Psalms. London: Hodder and Stoughton. 1924. p 225.
[2] Wanamaker, John. Maxims of Life and Business. New York: Harper & Brothers. 1923. p 5.
[3] Meyer, F. B., The Shepherd Psalm (1889; repr., Kindle edition), chap. 2, Kindle locs. 345–48.
[4] Lutzer, Erwin W. Failure: The Back Door to Success. Chicago: Moody Publishers. 2016. p 48.
