Wednesday in the Word: When the Cloud Tarries

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Source: google.com via Leslie on Pinterest


And when the cloud tarried long upon the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the charge of the LORD, and journeyed not.
Numbers 9:19

Missionary friends of ours, the Schepers family in the Dominican Republic, have been home on furlough for about six months. They were scheduled to return to the DR yesterday, but God had other plans. Last Saturday, as they slept in a hotel room in Kansas City, MO, someone stole their van, with the attached trailer. Everything they had was in that trailer: their clothes, their passports from two countries, their papers allowing them to work and live in the DR, things they had bought to take back with them, their computer . . . everything. As I write this, they have rescheduled their flight for mid-March, and the governments of the US and Canada are working with them to replace their passports and such as that. Things are working out, but for now, their "cloud" is tarrying long in the US.

The children of Israel, on their route to the Promised Land, had their instructions to only travel when the cloud of the Lord's presence lifted and moved. When the cloud tarried, they stayed put. I'm sure there were times when the Israelites wondered why in the world they weren't traveling. Why did God leave the cloud in place so long?

Is your cloud tarrying long today? Is the Lord telling you to wait on Him? Psalm 37:7 tells us to "Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him . . ." Trust whatever God is doing in your life. Rest in Him. Whatever the delay is, He has a plan for you (Jeremiah 29:11), and it will work out for your good and God's glory! (Romans 8:28)

Comments

  1. Anonymous9:06 AM

    Very good reminder. It's hard to keep from chafing and instead trust in times like that.

    In Goforth of China, his wife details how they lost nearly all of their earthly belongings four different times: once by flood, once by fire, once when it rotted when an inexperienced missionary moved it to storage where it wasn't well-kept while they were on furlough, and once during the Boxer rebellion when they barely escaped with their lives. He said, "Rose, they're just things!" But she had a harder time with it. I could definitely identify with her! I do tend to value things too much and need to remember they're God's things to do with what He will.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Susan9:59 AM

    As I was reading this week, that verse just jumped out at me. So many times I want to rush ahead of God, so I thought I'd share.

    I wouldn't deal well with losing everything. Donna, my missionary friend, seems to be doing well. My first thought when I heard about the theft, though, was that I was so glad nobody was sick or hurt, after the month we had with Kim and hearing about the missionary family who lost their little girl in an accident in NC. Donna said right away that she still had all her family, so she realizes it too!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jolene5:34 AM

    My heart really goes out to my friend Donna, and I keep wondering if they will ever get to know God's purpose in it. Regardless of whether they ever know or not, I am grateful for their sweet spirit.

    ReplyDelete

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