KEEP MOVING ON!

The tour diary of God’s people is a record of the faithfulness of God towards them. He brought them to Elim for a few days of rest and rejuvenation and not for permanent abode. In His plan for them, Elim is not the destination, but only a wayside rest for refreshing their bodies and souls. Elim is a place to recharge their spiritual batteries so that they can proceed towards their destination. Soon the Israelites had to reconcile with the fact that God had great provisions for His children during their journey, but He has planned a destination for them where they would enjoy greater blessings from Him. God prepares many such Elims for His children, but they are not expected to develop the desire to stay at Elim forever. This is a journey of hope and expectation for God’s children. Patriarch Abraham once walked towards this land of hope, and he had to walk by faith. God met all his needs on the way and found enough provisions for him to pitch his tent wherever he went. He learned that even in the Promised Land, he had no permanent abode, but only moving abodes. Through these perpetual moves, God taught His people that where they stay or what they eat is not important, but these are only to sustain them in this life. What is more important for them is the relationship between them and the Lord. He desired to dwell among His people and have smooth flow of communion with them. This is the greatest prize in our walk with the Lord where the walk is much less important as compared with the sweetness of the relationship with the Lord. He has called us to walk with Him and go wherever He wants us to go so that we can spend time with Him, and learn about Him and from Him. Perhaps the next move is to the desert, but that is where you will see Mount Sinai with the visions of the Lord.

Dear friend, perhaps the answers to prayer that you receive from the Lord make you complacent. But these answers are only for you to keep walking with the Lord. He provides for the journey, but wants to teach you wonderful lessons in life to help you keeping on trusting Him. The sweet waters of Marah or the streams of Elim are best for the time being, but the Lord has greater things in store for you. He wants you to make progress towards richer spiritual blessings in your life and relationship with the Lord. Just as Abraham was elevated to the level of friendship with the Lord, He wants to elevate you to a level where you will grow in faith and trust in the Lord for everything. Such a relationship will brighten your hope and strengthen your faith which will have to be proved through your obedience in walking with Him and the sacrifices you make for Him, including the sacrifice of praise. Even during the journey, He prepares food for you and it is going to be given to you a day at a time. You are taught to pray for daily bread and not for bread for generations. The Lord will look after your generations in His divine wisdom and will provide for them. It is not your responsibility to amass for several generations, but to allow the Lord to take that responsibility. Perhaps you had a wonderful experience of cool waters, dates from the palm tree, nice grass and shade to have a spiritual picnic, but soon it is time to pack up and march forward. Let us trust the Lord to look after our next steps in this great walk with Him. Let us hold on to His hands as we walk with Him. Rather than complaining about every little thing, let us speak to Him about greater things and use the opportunity to learn wonderful things about our eternal abode. Let us focus our attention on eternity. Let us climb mountains by faith like Caleb. Let us enjoy the daily manna and gain strength to keep going with the Lord.

Psalms 107:7 – He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle.

Thought for Today
It is wise to focus on our destination and enjoy our walk with the Lord, and trust Him to look after the travel details.