Led by the Lord

Certain men asked Moses a question. Moses said to them, “Stand still, that I may hear what the Lord will command concerning you. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying…” [1]

The Lord gave Moses the answer after he prayed. The Lord created our mouth and vocal cords. Certainly, He is able to speak. He created our ears. Certainly, He is able to hear. So, let us ask the Lord our questions. Let us wait for His answers. He does answer those who wait on Him.

“So it was always: the cloud covered it [the tabernacle] by day, and the appearance of fire by night. Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, after that the children of Israel would journey; and in the place where the cloud settled, there the children of Israel would pitch their tents.” “At the command of the Lord they remained encamped, and at the command of the Lord they journeyed; they kept the charge of the Lord, at the command of the Lord by the hand of Moses.” [2]

As Jesus led His disciples around Galilee and the surrounding area, so the Lord led the people of Israel, but the difference being, He led Israel by a cloud by day and by fire at night. Nowadays, the Lord leads us by His Word and Spirit.

“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.” “It is the Spirit that makes alive; the flesh profits nothing: the Words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life.” [3]

“When you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the Lord your God, and you will be saved from your enemies.” [4]

Once, back in August of 1984, the Lord led me to sound a horn after reading this passage. My wife (Sherry) and I were managing a shelter for homeless women and children. We had no health insurance and less than a $100 to our name, and on top of that a large hospital bill looming over us. I had been very ill and bedridden for 28 days. During those 28 days, I had read the Bible from cover to cover. On the day that I finished reading the Bible, the Holy Spirit placed Numbers 10:9 and 2 Chronicles 13:13-18 on my heart.

Based on these passages, I wanted to sound a trumpet to the Lord. I did not have a trumpet so I used a plastic pipe. I blew in the pipe seven times and shouted praise to God. At that moment, the boil in the back of my throat burst. A few hours later, I could painlessly swallow again. My fever was gone. My strength returned. The other trial for which I blew the “trumpet” was our debt. I owed $1,400 to the hospital. On top of this, the price tab for our baby’s prenatal care and delivery at Mizzou University hospital was $3,000.

God won the battle. The Missouri State legislature wanted the psychiatric care ward cleared of people who they deemed as exploiters of the system. They passed legislation to force them out. The hospital started sending them to us. Someone on the hospital’s Board of Regents heard that we sheltered the homeless patients and asked the Board to cancel my $1,400 debt and to reduce the price tag for Sherry’s prenatal care and delivery from $3,000 to $500. After they did that, a check arrived in the mail. The amount was $500. The Lord healed me. He paid our debts. Glory to God!

“Whenever the ark set out, that Moses said: ‘Rise up, O Lord! Let Your enemies be scattered and let those who hate You flee before You.’ And when it rested, he said: ‘Return, O Lord, to the many 1,000’s of Israel.’” [5]

We who bear witness to the Word of God and to the testimony of Jesus have enemies. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” [6] That is why we need the Lord to arise and scatter His enemies from before us, and we need Him to return and rest with us when we rest. And He does! Praise the Lord!

We also need to be prepared to go when He says, “Go!” And rest when He says, “Rest.”

[1] Numbers 9:6-9
[2] Numbers 9:16-17, 23
[3] Romans 8:14; John 14:26; John 6:63
[4] Numbers 10:9
[5] Numbers 10:35-36
[6] Ephesians 6:12