Wisdom From The Wilderness - God’s Constant Presence (Daily Devotional)

Shalom and welcome to another episode of Living Supernaturally. Through this week we started learning and meditating upon the wilderness journey that the Israelites went through and we are going to glean some wisdom from their experience, their wilderness journey. Yesterday, we looked at how the wilderness is a time of preparation for something that's greater. Through today's devotional, we see in the Israelites' wilderness journey that God's consistent presence was with the Israelites.

Let's read from Exodus chapter 13, verses 21 and 22, ‘The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night a pillar of fire to give them light so as to go by day and night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night from before the people.’ The pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire; at the time when the Israelites were in the wilderness, actually symbolized and showed the presence, the continuous presence of God with His people as they journeyed even through the wilderness. God never left them; God's presence was consistent. The pillar of cloud guided the Israelites in the day and the pillar of fire guided them through the night and gave them warmth, gave them light and gave them direction in their travel. These pillars of cloud showed that God was the only source of sustenance for them and that He was the One who enabled them to survive in that period of wilderness. So, this was the sign that was visible for the Israelites where they saw that they were not alone in the wilderness, no matter how daunting or how unfamiliar that journey felt. So, this truth gives so much of wisdom for us even today when we are navigating our own wilderness experiences. That God is there constantly in our time of wilderness and God will not take away those pillars from us because He is steadfast and He never leaves His place; He ensures that He journeys along with us. We notice that the Israelites used to grumble, they complained, they rebelled but yet the presence of God did not leave them, the presence of God was with them. What do we learn from this? God's love and His presence is not conditional. He does not withdraw His presence from us because of our circumstances and our failures. In every season whether it is in joy, in despair, in success and struggle, His presence is constant giving us enough light in our journey ahead. This wilderness is an intimidating place. It was for the Israelites, it is for us and it is often filled with danger, uncertainty, fear, and there is no clear path forward. But our wilderness, even though it can seem frightening and daunting, because of the certainty of God’s presence we can keep moving along. God’s presence is that anchor even in our wilderness season. So, the wisdom we learn from this today is that we are held constantly by God in any uncertain situation/ circumstance or in our wilderness experience. Let us thank God that His presence moves with us no matter what. Let's pray together, Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are our constant presence in our lives. Father wherever we are, whatever journeys we go through, difficult situations, circumstances, you never leave us nor forsake us. You uphold us by your righteous hand. May we stand in faith and boldness as we pass through that period of preparation into our promised land. Help us to keep our eyes focused on your presence, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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