Nougat 25

Have you ever read the Word and thought ‘What! Tho is in there?!’ Today’s Holy Nougat is one of those for me.

“If you stray to the right or the left, you will hear a word that comes from behind you: “This is the way; walk in it.”” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭30‬:‭21‬ ‭CEB‬‬

Lest I stray

I love that this doesn’t begin with ‘When’, rather, it’s ‘if’. Yes, this was part of a bigger message regarding faithfulness, war and exile, but it certainly offers the concept of our individual paths being under God’s direction. For me it’s heartening to realize that God’s plan is for our success (see John 3:17), yet God has got a contingency plan for each of us. Moreover, we realize that there’s a clear plan for God’s select.

So let’s forego Israel’s path for a minute and consider our own. What is God’s plan for our lives? 29, especially verses 11-13, affirms that God’s plan is for good. How do our plans and hopes align with God’s plans for us? I feel God places impulses in us that become the foundation for our future. And, based on that premise, I feel God guides us in the way we ought to go.

Exodus 13 introduces the concept of God as our GPS by situating the Children of Israel with Cloud and fire. One could say that was pre-stargazing times. Day by day they followed God’s leading, without the aid of compass or tour guide. Moses didn’t know the way. At night, God’s presence hovered and the Fire scared the wild animals and potential marauders were kept away. Like Cain, they were marked; and so are we.

As we continue our spiritual journey through this wilderness called earth, we have no need to fear. For though the Cloud and Fire are not visible without; we can still access God’s direction. And, if we stray (not when), we are assured of God’s grace pointing us in the right direction.

So, we wait. And we invite God’s Spirit to direct our path. But most of all, we listen for the Voice saying, ‘This is the way.’ Will we walk in it?

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May all we seek be found in Christ