Watching God from a Distance

In the book of Exodus in the Bible, there is an account of Moses walking into a tent to speak directly with God about how to lead the Israelites.  It was called the tent of meeting (eventually referred to as the Tabernacle), and it was always a certain distance outside of the main camp.  What a curious thing it must have been for Moses to actually hear the audible voice of God and get advice directly from Him.  Scripture also says that a pillar composed of clouds would show up each time this happened - it has been referred to as the glory cloud in later generations.  It further says that God would speak to Moses 'as if to a friend.'  Astonishing, isn't it?  The creator of all things choosing to speak directly with a mortal man.  

Exodus 33:9-10 says, "As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses.  Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent."   The Israelites watched and waited as Moses received instruction from the Almighty.  What a sight it must have been to see the cloud, and come to the realization that God was with them in physical form. 

We love to watch what God is doing, don't we?  We enjoy the idea that He may be speaking to certain people here and there through the Holy Spirit.  But it always seems more comfortable to watch and wait from our own tents I think.  It's much safer that way.  Let the pastor or the priest go out and receive divine instructions, then they can bring it back to camp later.  Maybe we can even see the faint outline of the glory cloud from a distance if we squint.  But that’s as close as we want to get. 

So, I believe the question for us could be phrased as such: where is God's presence at work today?  I think that we can answer this successfully in three ways.  God is present with us in churches, in the mission field, and in His people.  In all of these ways - if you look closely enough - you will see His love expressed through both faith and action.  The Bible says the gates of hell will not prevail against the church.  I take this to mean that no matter what is going on around us, we will still have at least the teaching of the Christian church to fall back on.  It will be communicated in some way, even in the end times during severe persecution and martyrdom.  God will be at work in what the church is doing, and who they are serving.

The second idea is that God will be present on the mission field.  This can occur of course to those for whom the Lord has pressed upon their hearts to travel overseas and build homes or  cultivate farmland.  For these 'harvest workers,' you can never spend enough time in other countries where the faith is just beginning to take hold.  It is rewarding beyond compare for those whose heart points in this direction.  To hear them recount experiences in the field can be both mesmerizing and contagious. 

Finally, I do think that the presence of God shows up in the hearts and minds of His loyal followers and believers.  When one person forgives another for example, the divine nature is on direct display for all to see.  It is most definitely not human nature to forgive, much less to do so easily and quickly.  No, I'm afraid that most of us, if left to our own devices, would rather hold on to a grudge or hurt feeling until the very end.  But with God in the mix, we are commanded to forgive as many times as it takes.  It is truly God at work. 

My advice then, is to walk with God into our own version of the Promised Land.  Follow the pillar of cloud in conjunction with the church, mission field, or the people.  You might be surprised where it takes you.  One thing remains certain however - if you never leave the threshold of your own tent, then most likely nothing miraculous or faith sustaining will ever happen.  Instead, you will keep wondering what God wants from your life and where your place in this world might be.  You will never leave the confines of the dugout and step out onto the ball field. 

You get an inkling of something special and supernatural from time to time, because you can see something over there that resembles divine activity.  But it's hard to make out from a distance.  Easier to watch other people trust and follow God.  But if we live this way all the time, we will miss out on countless divine opportunities that were put in our path since the dawn of time, before we were even conceived.  We will forfeit our chance to partner with a loving and caring God.  In short, we will give up our own personal Mt. Sinai experience.  We will continue being content with a golden calf instead. 

.