The Eternal Leading of God

Exodus 3:21

And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:

One of the greatest lessons on following the LORD’s leading in your life is that He not only leads us in the day, but He also leads us in the night. God wants to lead you all day and all night if you will follow Him. The pillar of cloud led the Israelites by day, but the pillar of fire was God still leading them at night. God wants to be your leader all the time.

God can only lead the believer who is willing to follow His leading. However, God’s leading will not always lead us into pleasant places. For instance, Psalm 23 tells us the LORD leads us through the valley of the shadow of death. Certainly, we don't like the leading of God through this valley, but if we truly want to follow Him, we must follow Him in the unpleasant places. Likewise, the leading of God will lead us to total sacrifice. Abram was asked to follow God, even to the degree of sacrificing his son, and he was willing to follow. The disciples followed Jesus right into a great storm. Stephen followed Jesus and was stoned to death. Peter followed Jesus, and it resulted in him being imprisoned. John followed Jesus, and it resulted in his being exiled to the Isle of Patmos. One may read this and wonder what is the benefit of following Christ. Let me share a few benefits of following God.

First, you will find God’s protection if you will follow Him by day and night. We read in Exodus 14:19, And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: The cloud that led Israel in the day became their source of protection from the Egyptian army. By following the LORD, you will find that He will protect you from being influenced by the world. Now, His leading may seem to be leading you straight to trials, but I would rather follow the LORD into stormy trials than to follow the world and lose sweet fellowship with Him.

Second, you will find the miraculous in your life if you will follow the LORD. Though God’s leading is often in undesirable circumstances, His leading in those circumstances is what allows us to see Him perform miracles throughout our lives. You will never know the power of God without the hardships of life. God told Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9, And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Paul followed Christ while experiencing hardships, but those hardships allowed the power of Christ to rest upon him. Miracles are never seen without the impossible being present in our lives. Following Christ into the impossible is what allows you to see His power working through your weakness to see the miraculous.

Third, you will enjoy the presence of God by following Him. Maybe the greatest thing about following God by day and night is that you are always in His presence. Oh, to have the presence of God by day and night; there is no greater presence than being in the presence of God. My friend, when you are in the presence of God, it will not matter what hardship you face; His presence makes it worth following Him. Following Christ may take you into the undesirable, but to be in the yoke with Him is where you get to enjoy His presence the most in your life.