Hearing What the Lord Commands
Moses was a wise leader when it came to waiting on the Lord. He did not rush to make a judgment. He would stop and pray, so that he could ask God for the answer before he spoke to the people. (Numbers 9:8) We would all do well to heed this practice.
When Moses was confronted with a question about the Passover celebration, he told the people with the question to "stand still." He was simply telling them to wait and not to talk about it for a while. I know my mother would often tell me to be still, when she wanted me to be quiet. They go together. We must not rush forward in life when we are uncertain. We must stop and be still before the Lord. Then, when we hear from Him, we can proceed with confidence.
Moses told the men that he had to hear from the Lord what He commanded, because the answer was not up to Moses' logic or feelings. It was God's feast, and the rules were His rules. He is the Lord. Today, He is Lord of our lives, so when we do not know the answer to a question or how to proceed, we must turn to the Lord for His command or principle to guide us.
Of course, we have the Bible, which is the whole counsel of God for us. We must first consider all that it says about our situation. Then, when the Bible does not speak directly to our question, we pray for God to speak to us through the Spirit or to show us His character from His Word, so we know what He wants us to do or what He would do in that same instance. Make no mistake, the Spirit can and will speak clearly to us, as He did to Moses, so we have no doubt about what to do. If we can't hear the Spirit, it is a problem with us, not God's communication abilities.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Numbers 10-12.
When Moses was confronted with a question about the Passover celebration, he told the people with the question to "stand still." He was simply telling them to wait and not to talk about it for a while. I know my mother would often tell me to be still, when she wanted me to be quiet. They go together. We must not rush forward in life when we are uncertain. We must stop and be still before the Lord. Then, when we hear from Him, we can proceed with confidence.
Moses told the men that he had to hear from the Lord what He commanded, because the answer was not up to Moses' logic or feelings. It was God's feast, and the rules were His rules. He is the Lord. Today, He is Lord of our lives, so when we do not know the answer to a question or how to proceed, we must turn to the Lord for His command or principle to guide us.
Of course, we have the Bible, which is the whole counsel of God for us. We must first consider all that it says about our situation. Then, when the Bible does not speak directly to our question, we pray for God to speak to us through the Spirit or to show us His character from His Word, so we know what He wants us to do or what He would do in that same instance. Make no mistake, the Spirit can and will speak clearly to us, as He did to Moses, so we have no doubt about what to do. If we can't hear the Spirit, it is a problem with us, not God's communication abilities.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Numbers 10-12.