Book of Numbers
Follow the Blessing
Discovering God’s will for your life is the path of blessing and it begins the moment we surrender our lives to Him. A surrendered life is intentional about staying on God’s path, knowing that His path is where the blessing is.
We are given a wonderful picture of what it means to follow God in the story of the Israelites when they roamed the wilderness for 40 years in the Book of Numbers. God’s presence was associated with the tabernacle, His cloud covered it during the day and it took on the appearance of fire during the night. They were instructed to settle and move out according to whenever the cloud lifted up or set in place over the tabernacle.
“And whenever the cloud lifted from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out, and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel camped.” (Numbers 9:17)
Following the blessing provides direction and provision towards being established in God’s will. This is the only path that produces lasting fruit in our lives and the lives we are fortunate to impact along the way. God’s path refines and clarifies, it rids us of sin and unnecessary baggage that hinders our effectiveness in the areas of our purpose. It cultivates obedience and intimacy as we get to know God better with every step.
To follow the blessing means placing your trust in God’s direction and His ways of accomplishing the desired results in your life. To do this well we must believe in His sovereign wisdom and care for us as we journey the path, even when it doesn’t make sense.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)
When we choose to follow the blessing, God promises to fulfill every word that He has spoken over our lives. The Israelites that chose to follow God’s blessing came into the full inheritance that was promised to them under Joshua’s leadership. God’s path lead them into the ultimate blessing, the promised land.
“And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed.” (Joshua 23:14)
Be sure that you are following the blessing by following God. He promises to offer strong support to those whose hearts are turned toward Him. (2 Chronicles 16:9) You will find that He is the blessing and that the blessing is found in Him!
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Breaking Faith~Breaking Blessings
God knew how difficult it would be to live a sin-free life. He also knew how important staying connected to Him in everyday life was vital to growing us up in our faith walk. And He made a way for us to live in uninterrupted fellowship with Him to Whom all our blessings flow.
“he shall confess his sin that he has committed. And he shall make full restitution for his wrong, adding a fifth to it and giving it to him to whom he did the wrong.” (Numbers 5:7)
Notice that when we sin there are consequences, sometimes seen and at other times unseen, but always in need of being accounted for and never forgotten by God until we confess.
“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1John 1:8,9)
Sin in our lives not only breaks faith with God and the enjoyment of living in the fruit of His fellowship it causes a ‘break’ in experiencing the abundant life that we have been called into through Jesus Christ our Savior.
Confess your sin(s) to God and to those whom you have sinned against, accept God’s forgiveness and begin again to enjoy the blessings of a faithful life!
The Source of Blessing
Growing in my trust-walk with God evolved through struggling with the tensions and trials in life. Learning to keep my eyes and heart fixed on Him in the various roles that I had been called seemed to evolve through a mixture of learning about Him, how much He loved me and His sovereign rule over all of creation. He is the only source of true and lasting blessing.
Daily life, the complexity of relationships and the varied roles that we have been called to fulfill seem to invite conflict and trials. This prevailing human condition can easily snatch our focus away from the source of blessing we have in God through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
God knew that in order to be successful in this life we would need to keep our focus on Him. He is the All-Sufficient One, the answer to every dilemma we would encounter in life. When He instructed Moses on how to set up camp for the nation of Israel in the Book of Numbers it is very interesting that the layout of the 12 tribes surrounding the Tent of Meeting were arranged to face the center, giving them a daily reminder that God desired to be the focus of their lives.
“The people of Israel shall camp each by his own standard, with the banners of their father’s houses. They shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side.” (Numbers 2:2)
If you are not living a God focused life you are missing out on His blessings. Today can be the start of a new, trust-walk between you and God. Focus brings clarity to the real issues at hand, without clarity we focus on the wrong issues. Focus on God and He promises to give us all that we need. Where is your focus today?
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:33-34)
loretta j. willis, author 