Camping

On the day the Tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered it. But from evening until morning the cloud over the Tabernacle looked like a pillar of fire. This was the regular pattern—at night the cloud that covered the Tabernacle had the appearance of fire. Whenever the cloud lifted from over the sacred tent, the people of Israel would break camp and follow it. And wherever the cloud settled, the people of Israel would set up camp. In this way, they traveled and camped at the LORD's command wherever He told them to go. Then they remained in their camp as long as the cloud stayed over the Tabernacle. (Numbers 9:15-18 NLT)

I enjoyed our camping and boating trips in the summer.  They made for great vacations.  Usually we would spend a week down on the lake.  Sometimes, we would get to go for two!

The longer trips were the ones where I got to know the lake better.  It's considered to be 101 miles long.  That may not seem like much to you, but when you're traveling the lake in a houseboat it takes awhile to get from one end to another.  We would make a journey out of it.  We would travel a little bit, then stop for the "night" and fish, swim, ski, or do whatever we wanted in that place.  The next day we would journey on until the next place we decided to stop.  Nothing was driving us to get anywhere quickly.  We could take the time to enjoy the journey.

I wonder if that was the kind of feeling the Israelites had.  They didn't have "someplace to go" and there certainly wasn't any time constraint to get there.  They could simply enjoy the journey.  What made it better, they knew God was leading the journey.  When He told them to stay, they stayed.  When He told them to break camp, it was time to go - and He led the way.

Now that I think of it, life really is a journey.  We would all probably enjoy it much more if we would simply trust God's directions and follow them.  Then we would stop worrying about destinations, time constraints, and simply enjoy the journey.

As they moved on each day, the cloud of the LORD hovered over them. And whenever the Ark set out, Moses would shout, "Arise, O LORD, and let Your enemies be scattered! Let them flee before You!" And when the Ark was set down, he would say, "Return, O LORD, to the countless thousands of Israel! (Numbers 10:34-36 NLT)