Now in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth of the month, the cloud was lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony; and the sons of Israel set out on their journeys from the wilderness of Sinai. Then the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran. Numbers 10:11-12
How does God get your attention so He can lead you? God led Israel with a cloud by day and a fire by night as he guided them through the wilderness. When the cloud lifted, the tribes knew it was MOVING DAY. Wherever the ‘presence’ went, they followed. Like an umbrella that covers you from the rain, staying under God’s Presence is essential to walking in and with the anointing. Wherever you go, you take Him with you because He (Christ) is in you. Yet there are times He will come upon you to move you. God will use things other than clouds to let you know that it is time to shift your horizons and see the new place He wants to establish you.
- God uses blessing and the lack of to move you! I have discovered throughout my journey that God moves me in a number of ways. If favor, doors of opportunity, provision, or employment begins to dry up in one place, that can be a clue God wants you to move you to another. I moved a few times in my life following these types of moving signs. God moved Elijah to a brook, then again moved him to a widow’s house to provide for him. God moved Israel to a land flowing with milk and honey to provide for them in a new way, supplying irrigation from the sky and not the ground. I experienced this twice in my career when I left VA Beach and then when I left Albuquerque. In each instance, God was inching me along to move me toward a new future. In what ways is God moving you today?
- God uses the anointing to move you! There is a difference between God’s presence living and working in you on a daily basis and then His presence ‘coming upon you’ to move you. The Spirit of God came upon King Saul, and he became another man; Peter after being FILLED with the Holy Spirit spoke with boldness never seen before. A strong unction, a holy desire that burns within, or a sudden and urgent prompting is also a sign God wants to move you to do or say something, often it is time sensitive. This is why delayed obedience is disobedience. In what is the anointing moving you to do?
- God uses pain and pleasure to move you! When I am experiencing pain in my body, I know it’s time to go see the doctor. I use to ignore pains and push through until the day a tumor was found in me, now I know I have to be diligent to follow the pains to the end. Pain is a clue to something God is trying to get your attention on. In the same way, feeling the ‘Pleasure of the Lord’ upon you is a sign of His approval upon you. Where are you experiencing pain or God’s pleasure in your life today?
REFLECT TO CONNECT:
- When have your felt God trying to get your attention so that He can move you?
- Have you sat in church or in a conversation before and ‘felt moved’ by what was being said and you knew God was trying to move you?
- When have you followed or ignored the ‘moving of the Lord’, what did you discover?
Principle: When you let God move you, you come under his umbrella of blessing and protection, He is like a shield around you.
