As If You Should Do Things My Way

Posted by Traci at 9:08 AM

Dr. Stan May preached on Numbers 9:15-23 today.   I truly feel bad that the whole church had to sit through my sermon.  Or at least that’s how it felt.  Rarely, rarely (too bad you can’t fingerspell for emphasis on a computer) have I felt the Spirit speaking to me so directly and intrusively through scripture.  Here’s an excerpt:

15 Now on the day that the tabernacle was raised up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the Testimony; from evening until morning it was above the tabernacle like the appearance of fire. 16 So it was always: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. 17 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. 18 At the command of the Lord the children of Israel would journey, and at the command of the Lord they would camp; as long as the cloud stayed above the tabernacle they remained encamped.

v22 Whether it was two days, a month, or a year that the cloud remained above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would remain encamped and not journey; but when it was taken up, they would journey. 23 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.

God had alot to say to me about this passage, but the thing that was nearly overwhelming to me was that He would, in such a present way, speak to me. By His word the foundations of the earth were laid, and those words He spoke to me today.  At least that’s how it felt, standing there with the congregation as he read the passage aloud. Like overwhelming power being etched in my soul.  I almost couldn’t breath.  I felt a tiny smidgen of what Elijah must have felt when God spoke to him on the mountain.

Dr. May really didn’t even have to preach after reading the passage.  God is guiding us. He’s guided us away from home for seminary then away from home again.  As he read this, I felt such a strong sense that God was affirming His involvement in our life by showing me what He did with the Israelites.   As much as I haven’t figured out the whole free will/sovereignty thing, I can’t deny that’s what happened this morning.  At the command of the Lord the children of Israel would journey, and at the command of the Lord they would camp.  And at the command and obvious will of the Lord I am here in Memphis.  Missing home.  Looking so forward to what He’s going to do here. Through willfull, ungrateful, doubtFull me.  This song was sang, which just piled on the Spirit’s work-   Jesus, Lover Of My Soul.


"It's all about You, Jesus
And all this is for You
For Your glory and your fame
It's not about me
As if You should do things my way"


God, help me trust You. For your glory and your fame. That's all that will last anyway.