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Walking with God
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We are all on a pilgrimage, and along that path we are sure to experience many dangers, excitements, disappointments, surprises, and our fair share of sadness, happiness and indeed suffering. But one sure thing is that in all these experiences we are not alone. God is walking along beside us – sharing our joys and sorrows and guiding us every step of the way. We also learn from others who have passed along the way before, and we try not to make the same mistakes. Do you ever wish that God would lead you the way He led Israel through the wilderness with a miraculous pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Ex.13:21; 14:19-20)? Those must have been very reassuring signs to the people that their God was present with them and actively intervening to lead them through the wilderness. In the case of Israel, God Himself was in the cloud and the fire, which He produced supernaturally. But how does He lead believers today? The most direct way is through the Bible. His written revelation to humanity. The vast majority of what we need to know about God’s will is revealed in Scripture. If we keep aiming toward that we’ll tend to end up in the right spot. Sometimes bad situations occur and we call out on the name of The Lord to sustain us at those times. The problem during these times is that we become too independent, too complacent, and too laid back in our Christian faith. Therefore, how can we grow and mature in Christ? In our suffering, we realise that we cannot be independent, but rather dependent on God. He is the only one who can sustain us and heal us. He strengthens us, comforts and teaches us His ways. As one of my favourite hymns reads:
“Have Thine own way Lord!
Along our pilgrimage we live in hope, because all
our hope is in Jesus Christ, who is the same, yesterday, today and
tomorrow. He is the living God, the God of our salvation, and we
put all our trust in Him, and give Him all the praise and thanks and
glory. |
