168. Spirit knows the way.

The day the Isarelites left Egypt, they saw a miraculous sight that they had never seen before! 'By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.' ( Exodus 13:21-22) They were on their journey of a lifetime, to a promised land they had never seen before, on a path they had never travelled before! None of them knew the way, not even Moses but only the Holy Spirit who went ahead of them! It is one thing to believe the promise made to their forefathers about a land flowing with milk and honey but it's another thing to get to that place of abundance! Often there is a disparity ( a great difference) between the our current reality and the given revelation and only the Holy Spirit can bridge the gap! Therefore, God sent his Spirit to lead them 'through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions.' (Deuteronomy 8:15) One of the remarkable facts of their desert experience is that the Israelites knew exactly when to move and how far God wanted them to move each day! 'Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped.' (Deuteronomy 9:17) Although the Isarelites disobeyed God in almost every other way, they usually followed this unmistakable guidance along the journey, until they reached the promised land. We too have set out on this journey of a lifetime, through a treacherous path that we have never travelled before and we need the unmistakable guidance of the Holy Spirit to reach that place of destiny! Speaking of this guidance, the Prophet Isaiah said: 'Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, "This is the way; walk in it!"' ( Isaiah 30:21) That is the voice of the Holy Spirit whispering in our ears the words of the Father. "He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears and will tell you what is yet to come." (John 16:13) Not that he can't speak in his own but it is through him that the Church hears the voice of Jesus. He made known to John in Patmos, the words of the one who stood among the lampstands. "These are the words of him who ... walks among the seven golden lampstands ... 'he who has an ear can hear what the Spirit says to the Churches.'" (Revelation 2:1-7) The Israelites often rebelled against the Spirit and grieved him. (Psalm 78:40, Isaiah 63:10) Therefore God says, "today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the desert where your fathers tested and tried me though they had seen what I did." ( Psalm 95:8-9) Let's be led by the Spirit for he knows the way. 'Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.' (Galatians 5:25) Amen.