Making decisions can be extremely exhausting for me at times. Especially when the “way to go” doesn’t seem so clear. There have been times when my pros and cons lists seem to be equal in weight, causing the thoughts in my brain feels like a ping pong ball bouncing around recklessly as I strive to come to a decision.
But then there are times when the decisions I should make are more obvious, and very little mental energy is needed in the decision making process. I wish more of life was lived in the “cut and dry” but in my experience, this is rarely the case. There have been so many different paths to choose from over the years, and many choices for us to make as a family, and the choices that we should make have not always been so clear, causing us to call out to the Lord with a plea of “Lead us, God! Lead us in the way we should go.”
The Israelites also found themselves in a place where the way that they should go was not so clear, and they needed God’s constant guidance to lead and direct them. The desert could not have been an easy place to navigate through, and therefore, God not only guided them at night in a pillar of fire, but He also guided them during the day in a pillar of cloud. Day or night, they were in need of God’s constant guidance, and not only was it God’s guidance, it was His very presence that was going before them!
Recently, my husband was very excited to learn and share with me a new term that he discovered- theophany. (THEE-O-FU-NEE) A theophany is a visible manifestation to humankind of God. This manifestation is an action that CLEARLY shows something that is abstract to people!
Understanding that the cloud by day and the fire by night were not just objects attached to a fishing pole, dangling from the sky for the Israelites to follow, but it was an act of guidance that also showed that the very presence of God was with them, is pretty mind blowing to say the least! His presence went before them, and He, God, manifested Himself in such a way to lead His people moment by moment- day or night.
This distinct difference in knowing the “objects in the sky” leading God’s people was actually His very presence leading them, helps me understand that God wasn’t just leading them through an obstacle course, but rather as He was leading them, they were in His presence!
How this truth changes the way that I will pray when the path of life seems clear OR unclear! No longer will I just pray “Lead me Lord!” Instead, I long for my prayer to be, “Go before me Lord and allow me to go in the way of your theophany, in the way that you are manifesting your presence in a personal and unique way that will lead and guide me!”
Our lives are SO much more than an obstacle course to be navigated through, but rather our lives should be lived with the moment by moment guidance of the God who desires to not only lead us, but to lead with His presence, and ultimately lead us to that glorious promised land!
When the decisions of life seem to be difficult to make, take heart in knowing that it may just be that God is striving for us to see Him lead us with His presence, and remind us of our constant need for His guidance, day and night, that He will faithfully provide!
Exodus 13:21
“ By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.”
Highlighting the hope that we have in Christ! 