Keep Looking Up

I know I'm not playing by the rules of delivering "A Verse Each Day" when I combine verses and days, BUT when I think about the fact that I am the one who made up the rules, I find it easier to break them.  I always pray that God guides me on the daily choices I make, so I am okay with being flexible every now and then.  All this to say....sorry I missed posting yesterday....and today I am posting an excerpt from the Message translation of a passage in Numbers that I really love.  It's several verses, but it is pretty self-explanatory.  I want the kind of obedience to God that makes me keep my eyes on Him daily, watching to see where He leads me and being obedient to follow. 

See how the Israelites were dependent on God for their daily needs in the following verses of Numbers 9:17-23, "When the Cloud lifted above the Tent, the People of Israel marched out; and when the Cloud descended the people camped. The People of Israel marched at God's command and they camped at his command. As long as the Cloud was over The Dwelling, they camped. Even when the Cloud hovered over The Dwelling for many days, they honored God's command and wouldn't march. They stayed in camp, obedient to God's command, as long as the Cloud was over The Dwelling, but the moment God issued orders they marched. If the Cloud stayed only from sunset to daybreak and then lifted at daybreak, they marched. Night or day, it made no difference—when the Cloud lifted, they marched. It made no difference whether the Cloud hovered over The Dwelling for two days or a month or a year, as long as the Cloud was there, they were there. And when the Cloud went up, they got up and marched. They camped at God's command and they marched at God's command. They lived obediently by God's orders as delivered by Moses."

I've always loved clouds.  I take pictures of them often because I am in awe of their beauty.  I view them as God's artwork and I love to see the pictures He paints daily.  More importantly, I like that they remind me of being obedient to God, of focusing on Him daily.  The clouds keep me looking up in expectation and that's exactly how I want to live.