Our God
given hopes and dreams await us
AS WE actively
watch and wait,
growing in oneness with HIM.
This is the 2nd blog on the theme of STAYING UNDER THE
CLOUD IN ONENESS WITH GOD
My wife came across a prophetic blog
post by Mario Murillo. This word from the Lord filled my soul with renewed
expectation and hope for what my heart yearns deeply to see. Every promise listed and things we are desperately watching
and waiting to see. There are many thousands it applies to but I felt as
though this was addressed to me and my wife.
In my last blog I wrote of how the broken things in our lives get fixed
as we grow in oneness with God. This message picks up on that theme as it
relates to Watching and Waiting on
the Lord, being careful of His timing; allowing Holy Spirit to guide us in
making decisions. The faithfulness and diligence the prophet specified as the
condition for the promise above of are the natural by-product of growing
in oneness with Him. Keep in mind that both the verbs watch and wait can be passive or active and always involve, in this
context, communicating with the Father.
A Bible school teacher / preacher,
Walter Beutler, a man who experienced the Presence of God in ways few people
do, was quoted as saying that the Lord told him, "You go, you pay. If I send you, I'll pay." How
often have we made bone-headed decisions because we didn’t take the time to
hear from God about whatever it was? I am sure we can all say, “Guilty as
Charged.” Think of the difference between starting something on our own
initiative as compared with His initiative. Sometimes the Lord just might bless
it or more than likely He used it to teach us a lesson, to bring some
correction. Our intellect is insufficient.
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” says
the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future
and a hope.(NLT).
Isaiah 55:8
“My thoughts are nothing like
your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could
imagine. (NLT)
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| https://slideplayer.com/slide/7612335 |
We need to
continue to learn to think like God does, to go through the Romans 12:1&2
changes. Think of the difference of the outcome of the creation story and some
dumb attempt you made to try to accomplish something of little value. God is
mentioned thirty-two times in Gen. 1. Everything
starts with God. Everything was good because, “in the beginning God.” Look
at the oneness that exists between Jesus and the Father expressed in these
verses from John 10, they will provoke you to progressing in this oneness
process:
28 I
give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away
from me,
29 for
my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No
one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.
Marriage is
also a picture of this oneness,
Genesis 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and
his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
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| https://biblestudentsdaily.com/2016/09/09/study-2-the-pillar-of-cloud-by-day-and-the-pillar-of-smoke-by-night |
For today’s
School of the Spirit Lesson, open your textbook to. Numbers 9, verse 16 until
the end of the chapter, Moses redundantly explains the process of following the
cloud, of waiting and watching that cloud so that we know which way to go.
Numbers 9:22 Whether the cloud stayed above the Tabernacle
for two days, a month, or a year, the people of Israel stayed in camp and did
not move on. But as soon as it lifted, they broke camp and moved on.
23 So
they camped or traveled at the Lord’s command, and they did whatever the Lord
told them through Moses.
The cloud of
God’s presence rested over the Tabernacle in the wilderness during the day and
the Fire of God at night. When the cloud or the Fire lifted it was time to
hitch up the wagons and follow the cloud. They rested in their tents for as
long as the cloud was there. It could be a short time or a very long time, they
never knew but they were always watching
and waiting. With that in mind, what do we do when we have decisions to
make?
Ø Are we impulsive and decide on what seems the
most logical, practical or pleasurable?
Ø Are knee-jerk shortsighted “solutions to a
problem” ever a good long term solution?
Ø Do we get hot headed and react, doing
something stupid and/or hurtful?
Ø Do we at times think nothing will ever happen
unless we get out there and make it happen ourselves?
Ø Maybe we take time to think it through and
make a decision based on whatever facts we’ve been able to put together.
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his
purpose.
We must
always be watching and waiting to
see what direction the cloud is moving. When it’s still we watch and wait for movement. When it’s moving we watch and wait for when it stops. Who
here has patience to do this all the time? I didn’t think I’d see any hands. We
have to wait and listen for God’s still small voice, His gentle prodding, or His shove to get going. If we’re
staying under the cloud, in step with God, our steps will always be steps of
faith.
Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to
God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently
seek him.
Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing
by the word of God.
Ever think
about what God was doing during those times when the cloud stayed put for a
long time? Perhaps the most important thing He was after was that His people
learn to spend time with Him that He might get them ready for the next part of
the schlep to the Promised Land. Whether moving, or still, He will be revealing
Himself to us, drawing us further into oneness with Him as we watch and wait.
Ever notice that sometimes God’s answers to the
questions we ask Him are answered almost instantly. More often we experience the
harder part of the process, the many other times when we wait much longer than
our flesh wants to. Just as the Israelite's experienced that cloud and fire, the
Lord wants us to experience a life of listening faith, of watching and waiting, of sensing
His moving and hearing His voice. Are there 2 sets of footprints in the sand next to each
other? Are our footsteps next to His, not wandering around, not lagging behind
or running ahead?
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