All our human inclination drives us to make plans for our own survival and success, to engineer our lives, to fix our problems, to determine our own destiny.
Then we find this verse in the Bible: Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out. Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out. Numbers 9:21-22
Along comes God and plants us in the wilderness—not just for a day, but for days on end, tedious and monotonous days of going nowhere. About the time we finally accept our wilderness assignment, about the time we settle into the routine and get comfortable, the cloud lifts and we move on, not really knowing where we will be going.
Why the wilderness? Why the chaos of a life we cannot control? Why the right turn, left turn, move forward, move back—a dance without a destination? Why?
Generations later, believers would ask each other: What was it like to see the glory of the Lord? What was it like to eat the bread from heaven? What was it like to know the leading of the Lord so clearly? What was it like to have God Himself inside the camp?
I don’t have all the answers here, but it seems to me that sometimes God disconnects us from our dreams and our schemes so He can have us—just us—to Himself. Is it really a dance without a destination? Or if we are in the arms of the One who loves us, is it possible that we have already arrived?
Remember, you are designed to make a difference!
Dwight
Photo credits: Dance meme adapted from photo by Bonita Suraputra, Flickr, Creative Commons License, girl photo meme adapted from a photo by Hans Clough
