This morning I woke up mulling over the idea of following God even when it makes you look sort of weird to others. {Which is so different from my ‘normal’ life in which I appear perfectly cool and awesome otherwise. Ya know.}
Have you ever taken one of those kinds of journeys? The ones where you try explaining to friends/family that you are waiting on God to show you the exact path He desires for you, but they look at you…blankly. Even the ‘Christian’ ones. {Which is ironic, right? Because aren’t us Christ-followers supposed to be following…umm…Christ?} And I’ve realized {over these last three years} that while we like to label ourselves as Christ-followers, we are actually more like Christ-followers-when-it-makes-sense-to-us.
A while back I blogged on the false idea that came from the statement, ‘God helps those who help themselves.’ And it’s false because it’s not a Biblical principle. There are plenty of places in the Bible where God did for people when they were perfectly capable of doing for themselves. Because sometimes He simply wants to cherish us…just because. {I mean, don’t you like getting presents from your friend or mate…just because?}
{Anyways…} In case you’re wondering if I’ve went off on a tangent {or something like that}, here’s why I decided to blog about my musings. This was in my morning devotional..
“The ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them.” {Numbers 10:33}
“God sometimes does influence us with a simple touch or feeling, but not so we would act on the feeling. If the touch is from Him, He will then provide sufficient evidence to confirm it beyond the slightest doubt. Consider the story of Jeremiah, when he felt God leading him to purchase the field at Anathoth. He did not act on his initial feeling but waited for God to completely fulfill His words to him before taking action. Then once his cousin came to him, bringing the external evidence of God’s direction by making a proposal for the purchase, he responded and said, “I knew that this was the word of the Lord”. {Jeremiah 32:8}
“God wants us to act only once we have His mind on a certain situation. Never say in your heart what you will or will not do but wait until God reveals His way to you. As long as that way is hidden, it is clear that there is no need of action and that He hold Himself accountable for all the results of keeping you exactly where you are.“ {Streams in the Desert…some emphasis mine}
In the Old Testament, the Israelites followed God through a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day.
“17. Whenever the cloud lifted from above the tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped.
18. 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.
19. When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the Lord’s order and did not set out.” {Numbers 9:17-19, NIV}
So my point is, why don’t we do that nowadays? Have we become so accustomed to what we can do and what we can accomplish that, more-often-than-not, we set out on our own journeys, hoping God will bless what we are striving to do, rather than what He had in mind originally? In other words…
Moving only when God moves.
Or staying still when God is standing still.
Over these last 2-1/2 years, me and my husband have received more strange looks from friends and family concerning this journey God called us to. I guess because it doesn’t seem to make much ‘sense’ sometimes. Although it wasn’t just a calling we followed. There were clear-cut, halogen-lightbeam kind of obvious directions that opened before us. {Initially, that is. And you will only understand that statement if you’ve been on one of these kinds of journeys yourself.}
And, no, we didn’t know everything we wanted to know when we started.
And, no, we still don’t know everything we want to know right now. {sigh}
I guess what I’ve discovered {in this Western-culture-based Christianity} is, this type of journey tends to look like we are just aimlessly wandering. Floating helplessly in the middle of the ocean hoping someone will come soon and rescue our weird lil’ family. {Yeah, we own that label. We’re confident like that. 
}
But that is the furthest thing from the truth.
Because while we aren’t following the typical patterns or ideals that our society {both religious and otherwise} have deemed appropriate and ‘sensible’, we know we are following Him. {Besides, when has God’s callings ever really made sense?} We are walking in His footsteps with that whole pick-up-your-cross-and-follow-Me concept. {Remember that one?}
So why does our actions make no sense to the fellow Christians around us? Is it because, in our modern age, we’ve lost the desire to move only when God moves and to stay still when God is still as well? {Frankly, it appears that’s exactly what has happened.}
I realize that when the Israelites followed the cloud by day and the fire by night, they were the only nation that did so. And it probably looked a little weird to the other nations because…their gods couldn’t lead them like that. Only the one true God could. Which also means that as long as they followed God’s cloud and fire, they actually became a testimony to others as to how God can, not only literally immerse Himself into your world, but also that He desires to. {That is, if you allow Him the opportunity.}
So, meanwhile, here we are. Sitting under the cloud by day and the fire by night. Wondering. Is it gonna be tonight? How ’bout tomorrow? Maybe a year from now? When will the external evidence show up letting us know ‘what next’? And the question that presents itself is…Will we bend to the pull we feel around us, striking out on a path before God has revealed the external evidence, or will we remain still and confident, knowing He takes full ‘responsibility’ for having us remain where we are at this moment?
Because it can be difficult to sit still and look…
Lazy.
Foolish.
Aimless.
Silly.
Clueless.
Helpless.
But if the cloud hasn’t moved…do you?
And if the fire is sitting still…where do you think you’re gonna go?
Because if He isn’t at the helm of your life, guiding your decisions and ordering your steps, exactly who do you think you’re following?
His cloud or…yourself?
{Image courtesy of Flickr}
