Guided by Fire

God customizes his guidance to fit what he knows that we need. During the Israelites’ 40 years in the wilderness, God guided them with a supernatural manifestation of his presence as a fire-cloud over the tabernacle. Now that the Spirit of God lives within those who believe, he uses multiple means to guide us, including scripture, prayer and providence – all interpreted in community. Whatever the means, God’s goal is to make us both wise and dependent on him. To do that, we must trust his character, understanding that he is both present but not conspicuous, soothing and but not safe, reliable but not predictable. Especially when it seems like our lives are going nowhere fast, he is still hard at work changing us.