My friend Jon Swanson’s been writing about Following The Cloud. His wonderful word picture of following God is giving me a different perspective as we prepare for TAOS TO TUCSON.
In Numbers 9 the Israelites have this unmistakable signal from God: a cloud covers the tabernacle. If the cloud moves, they move. If it stays, they stay.
Simple, right? You just get up in the morning, check the cloud, and you’ve got your orders for the day. How often have you wished God would be that clear and direct?
Really?
What if the cloud moved this morning, but your kid’s got an important soccer game this afternoon? The whole team’s counting on him to be there. Are you really supposed to drop everything and leave, right now?
What if the cloud stays put when the moving van’s packed and you’re sure it’s time to leave? What are you supposed to do when you already quit your job and sold the house?
What if you’ve got the next two days’ rides all planned out. Someone calls at the last minute and asks you to share your story with a small group of homeless folks. The shelter’s several miles out of the way. You’ll have to alter your routes and skip your rest day. And you likely won’t receive any donations or sell a single book.
What if you don’t feel like riding today, or if you’d rather just skip the blog? What if the darn cloud’s moving, but you’d prefer to ignore it just this once?
We fuss a lot about not knowing “God’s plan.” I think that’s mostly a diversion.
If I’m honest, most of my problems arise when I avoid the simple stuff I know about following Jesus. Maybe we should be careful about asking for clear directions. What if Jesus was really serious about what He said?
What if He doesn’t just want us to show up when it’s convenient?
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