One of the things that bugs astronomers is the lights of the city, which reflects up into the night sky and makes the stars hard to see. In the same way, 21st Century life is so filled with noise that make God hard to hear.
After 430 years of slavery, and a 3 week face of with Pharaoh, God has delivered the Hebrews. The first thing God promises is to lead them - a pillar of cloud by day, a pillar of fire by night. If they ever feel lost or disoriented in the vastness of the wilderness, they just have to look up to see and follow the pillars.
The pillars are easy to spot in the wilderness. There are no condo developments, power towers, or neon lights to obsure them. In the nothingness of the wildnerness, they stand out like sore thumbs.
Good thing - because these slaves have never been away from home before. They have no maps or GPS devices. They have no idea where they are going.
But the Pillars are not just to lead their way. They are also visible signs of God's presence - that God does not just free them FROM Egypt only leave them to fend for themselves in the wilderness. God is also freeing them TO something. And to get there, they have to stick to the pillars.
The firs tthing God does is to steer them around a hostile people. Now God, who just took on Pharaoh could have easily take out the Philistines also. But there is something to be said for picking one's battles. They needed a God powerful enough to overcome the Pharaoh. They also needed a God wise enough to steer them around unnecessary danger.
Write
Think about your faith story: how have you experienced God's leading in your life?
in your life presently, how do you need some direction from God? How do you need to make space to hear God?
Who do you know is needing direction from God?
Pray
What
is God saying to you today? What's Good News to you?
Talk to God about the ways he has lead you. Thank God for the way he leads you with wisdom and strength, even when he has to speak over the noises in your life.
Pray about your current need for guidance. Ask God for the help you need, the reassureance of his presence, and the courage to make space and wait for direction..
Pray for your friend who needs direction. Ask God to give you the opportunity to support your friend by waiting on God with them.
Pray for an experience of God's love, grace and mercy in the way he leads you, and the way he does not leave you to your own devices.