God’s Guiding Presence

Exodus 15:13
"You have led in Your steadfast love the people whom You have redeemed."

What does God want me to do? Where does He want me to go?” Most of us have asked these questions. We long for a road map that tells us exactly what is coming next in life.

As the Israelites left slavery for a future in an unknown land, they depended heavily on God’s direction. In the day, they followed a cloud. At night, fire filled the cloud so that they could see by it.

There is an important difference between the cloud of God’s presence and a modern road map. Without a map, the Israelites could not run ahead of God or anticipate where they would be six weeks later. Instead, they could move only at God’s speed, in God’s direction, as He led them by the cloud.

As we follow Christ, we have no guarantees about where we will be ten years from now or what we will be doing then. Our trust is centered in Jesus Christ Himself, who is our guide. Through Christ, God has pledged that He will watch over us and will bring us where He has promised—no matter how strange or hard the journey. After all, Christ has already traveled through death into life again for us. He will bring us safely through life and into God’s presence forever.

Dear God, help me trust and follow You whether the path is enclosed in darkness or in light. Amen.
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Portals of Prayer - A Daily Devotion from Concordia Publishing House