Hovering God

A good word for this year, and especially for the upcoming days of uncertainty for believers politically.  This is from the book I am reading as I study the book of Numbers.  God appeared to Israel as He hovered over the tent of meeting as a cloud by day and fire by night.  When the cloud or fire moved, they moved.  It required a great deal of trust, especially when God didn’t move for long periods.  Like Israel, we want to see God move and when it appears He isn’t, then it’s easy to become discouraged and to lose hope. 

“There were days when they could see that they were making progress, but at other times they may have been puzzled because nothing was happening.  Why the tiresome delay?  For most of us, at some time or another, life has its bewildering waiting times.  The evidence of God’s continuing care appears limited, even absent.  The Puritans spoke about ‘the soul’s winter times’, when everything appears cold, bleak, and barren.  We wish God would speak to us more clearly about why we are going through such dark days, when it is hard to hold on.  BUT WAITING TIMES ARE NOT WASTED TIMES.  When the guidance we look for is just not there, we must calmly renew our confidence in God; ‘such a resolution can never go to hell with thee’, said Thomas Goodwin.  There is some wise purpose in life’s bleak experiences.  GOD IS STILL PRESENT.  ‘Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.’  In the desolate years of late-seventeenth-century persecution, John Flavel urged his contemporaries to ‘exercise the faith of adherence when you have lost the faith of evidence.’  (Raymond Brown)

God knows what He is doing…and if our road ahead is hard, God still knows what He is doing. 

In our personal lives…in our lives in God’s kingdom…in our family lives – we must trust God and obey Him and leave all the rest up to Him.  I believe hard days are ahead for Christians.  But I would by far rather be following God today than to follow any other person or cause. 

Thank you, God, for reminding us at this time of year that You are Immanuel…GOD WITH US.  We really have nothing to fear.

Author: Patty hesaidwhatks

I'm Patty and I write about our adult son who has Epilepsy and Autism, who still lives with my husband and me, and who is a package full of many surprises and joys and challenges and TALK! Lots of talking, which creates laughter and some other reactions as well. I also write about how God shows Himself to me in everyday life.

30 thoughts on “Hovering God”

  2. I really liked your post today. You don’t hear that message very often anymore. I think it is an important message: “When the guidance we look for is just not there, we must calmly renew our confidence in God;” And I love your pic of the manger scene! (hehe) Have a merry Christmas Patty! Blessings!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  4. No matter what happens, we’ll always have Jesus 🙂 Thanks for the kind reminder! And in case I don’t meet you on the blog before Christmas: I hope you and the family have a very Merry Christmas!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. Patty thank you for the beautiful message. I love you. Can you believe that your techno idiot cousin finally learned how to receive all your “He Said What” posts via email. I am so glad.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. You made me laugh, Barbara! I’m very glad you were able to follow the blog! I understand all about being techno challenged! 😅 Much love to you and the family, Cuz, and a very Merry Christmas. ♥️♥️

      Like

      Reply

  6. During times of confusion and darkness, it is important to rely on faith and have trust and confidence in the Lord. God, will never leave us or forsake us. Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas! Is Aaron excited? 🎄🌺

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you, Jeanne, for your wise words. Aaron is excited about Christmas and what might be under the tree for him. He’s also a little nervous about family coming because he gets a little stressed. Hopefully he’ll relax and have fun. A very Merry Christmas to you and your family! ♥️

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  8. Thank you for this good word “hovering”, Patty. This is not something I had thought of before, but now I have that image in my mind. God is with us. Of that truth we can be assured. Thank you for always encouraging us/me. God bless you and your family this Christmas.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  13. ❤️So thankful for my faith, I cannot imagine life without it and without following Christ! I don’t know how people do it without Him but I pray continually that those who don’t know Him would be turned to Him.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

%d bloggers like this: