Father, May I?

I remember playing the game, "Mother, may I?" when I was a kid. There was nothing fancy to it, but simply a matter of requesting permission to move from the "boss" of the game, and them telling you how many baby or giant steps you could take. Your objective was to get to the leader before everyone else did.

I was reading this morning in Numbers about the Israelites in the desert after fleeing from Egypt. They were moving towards the Promised Land, but did so on God's timetable and not on their own. When the Cloud that represented God's presence rested on the Tent of Dwelling they didn't go anywhere. When that Cloud lifted they would march to wherever God led them. Scripture tells us that it didn't matter if the Cloud hovered over the dwelling for two days, a month, or a year-as long as it stayed they didn't move. When the Cloud went up, they got up and marched.

It's a simple matter of obedience to God's leading and a reflection of our trust in Him. There are times when He is ready for us to move forward and times when we need to rest, meditate, and prepare.

It doesn't have to be about leaving your physical area, but allowing God to stretch you spiritually in your current location. New ventures in faith require that God leads the way and that we choose to follow. Our eyes have to be constantly fixed on our Father so that we see when He is moving us into new areas and when He wants us to rest in Him.

They camped at God's command and they marched at God's command. They lived obediently by God's orders as delivered by Moses. Numbers 9:23