Numbers 9:19

Yet another good devotional passage. “When the cloud remained…the Israelites…did not set out.” - Numbers 9:19

Yet another wonderful reminder that storms will come and it may seem like the smart thing to do to pack up and move away from the storm. Or, it may feel like a storm is approaching, and you’re stuck, and there’s nothing you can do but wait for it to hit you.

But it’s a great reminder, especially for me, that while I may either be in the middle of a storm, or see one approaching, that I am equipped to handle the storm. I may feel trapped in the storm, sure, and feel like I’d rather be anywhere else where I didn’t have to handle the brunt of the bad weather. But just like the metallurgist doesn’t leave the precious metal alone in the fire, God doesn’t leave you empty handed in the storm. That’s what the Bible and church and family and support is for – they’re your rain gear, to help protect you and get you through the storm!!

The devotional book starts off by saying it’s a test of obedience – rather than picking up and abandoning things, by staying put and sticking out the storm (with help), you’re showing God your obedience and trust that he has you there for a reason, and he has every intention of seeing you come out the other side safely, and a better person for it.

It’s also all about patience. It may be a long, tough storm. No one knows when the storms will end. Rather than praying for the storm to end, I need to work on being patient, and know that God has everything perfectly planned, and I should really be praying that he will give me the tools and equipment to get through it. That will be hard for me. I’m not naturally a patient person – I want it done right now.

So maybe, I should actually pray for patience. And maybe God has me going through this long storm so that I may actually learn patience. While it’s only been 2 weeks, I can actually look back at the last 2 weeks and see my change – while I’m still struggling with patience, I’ve seen a lot of things that I can put my trust in and ways that God has improved my patience. It’s just evidence that patience IS a virtue and there are benefits – I just have to keep reminding myself of that.