What To Do?

Numbers 9:23 

“At the Lord’s command they encamped, and at the Lord’s command they set out.  They obeyed the Lord’s order, in accordance with his commandment through Moses.”

In school, class started on time. We all understood that we were supposed to be in class before the bell rang. I had some teachers who would lock the door after the bell rang, and those kids coming in late, well, they missed class and got in trouble.

This verse reminds me that movement in our lives should be done only as we obey the Lord.

“They encamped” is a phrase we can tie to pitching our tent and not moving at all. Remember, the Israelites were at the base of Mount Sinai for over two years before God was ready to move them.

“They set out” tells us that when God says to move, we move, not before then or after, but when He says to move, we move.

“They obeyed,” interestingly enough, comes after the other two action commands of verse 23. Obedience becomes much easier when our movement depends on the Lord.

Too often, we see the circumstance and move out of God’s timing, only to mess things up, or we are so tired of getting our lives handed to us all beat up that we stop moving and quit when we should keep going. Moving on God’s commands means we have obedient faith, consistent faith, courageous faith, and forgiving faith. The Marines don’t go into battle without a plan or being connected to base to get instructions. Oftentimes, we go into battle on pure emotion, forgetting our faith that says God has this under control and all He needs is our obedience.

Today, reflect on your level of obedience to God. Is it an obedience deserving an A+, or are you more like a D- student in that department? A+ students in the school of obedience camp when God says to camp, move when God says to move, and obey because God has it all under control, and they know it would be foolish to ever move without Him. 2 Corinthians 5:7 tells us, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” You don’t have to understand everything, but we must be willing to step out in faith.

Prayer: Father, help me to understand how to walk by faith and not by sight. I pray that I will seek peace, favor, and wisdom in every situation. I also pray to hear the Holy Spirit above all the noise in life. In Jesus’ name, amen.