The Israelites left Succoth and camped at Etham on the
edge of the wilderness. The Lord went
ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and he
provided light at night with a pillar of fire. This allowed them to travel by
day or by night. And the Lord did not
remove the pillar of cloud or pillar of fire from its place in front of the
people. Exodus 13:20-22
This past weekend represented the end of the football
season. I am sure there is a mixture of
sadness if you are a fan like me and relief if you are like my wife. That all being said, one must realize that a
journey started well back in July last year culminated for one team, Kansas
City, out of thirty-two celebrating a Super Bowl championship. However, that was not what they were thinking
early in November when they lost to a team they would later have to beat for
the chance to win Super Bowl. Back then,
they were barely the best team in their division let alone the league. But that was the last game they lost in the
season. For them, it had to be an
amazing journey each team member will relish for the rest of their lives.
Sometimes our journey of faith is like a season. It ebbs and flows having various changes in
courses. I can speak to that having
suffered a lot of disappointment and pain lately. However, I was reminded of a story of a
Vietnam veteran named James Stockdale, who was imprisoned and tortured for over
seven years. His story of perseverance
has been studied by not only military leaders but also business and religious
leaders as well. The question that he
was asked was quite simply how he survived in such dire circumstances. His answer, which is better known as The
Stockdale Paradox, was this:
You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the
end — which you can never afford to lose — with the discipline to confront the
most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.
You see, his faith was that he would get out of there even
as things looked incredibly bleak in isolated moments.
We must always view our relationship with Jesus Christ as a long
journey where God’s glory is there even if we cannot see it at that
moment. Today, we come to the part of
Exodus where Israel has been freed by Pharaoh, and God is leading them on their
journey to the Promise Land. There was
an easier road that was more direct road there, but God chose to have go a
different way. The Bible said, “So God
led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. Thus
the Israelites left Egypt like an army ready for battle.” (Exodus 13:18) This
was much like I spoke earlier in the story of God ‘setting the stage.’ However, today I wanted to focus on the ‘how’
and not the ‘what’ God was doing. He led
and guided them every step of the way by clouds, light, and fire. They traveled day and night knowing where to
go and which way to turn. As I thought
of my own journey thus far, I did not always know where I was going. But there was a time that I began to fully put
my trust in Him, and time after time, He would lead me the right way. So, I now trust Him even as I know the twists
and turns are upon me and I cannot see the ultimate destination. But through the storms and battles, there is
God leading the way, and we know the destination at the end where there is as
said in the Bible ‘milk and honey.’ It’s
that faith we must maintain even in the most trying circumstances.
God is always the light in front of us. Ours simple but challenging task is to simply
follow. Martin Luther King once said, “Darkness
cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.” Understanding this, we must fully commit to
finding this light and following it even if it appears to lead us somewhere, we
might not have anticipated. We should
learn as Israel did that God loves to set the stage for His glory to be
revealed for all to see. No matter where
you are today in your journey, recommit your trust in Him to guide you to the Promise
Land. Where are you in your journey
today? Are you following the light God
has placed in front of you? My prayer is
that we trust in God and embrace the journey.
Amen.
Amen..
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