The Wonderful Unpredictability of the Great Predictable!

We do not have utter prophetic clarity as to the leading of the Holy Spirit, but we can still be certain that in his wonderful unpredictability, he is still—and always will be —the Great Predictable. He can be trusted. That was true for the Israelites in the wilderness, and that is true for you. When you follow the Cloud, at the end of the day, your testimony will be that God has led you all along the way.

The Journey // Focus: Numbers 9:15,17-10

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. …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. If the cloud remained over the Tabernacle for a long time, the Israelites stayed and performed their duty to the Lord. Sometimes the cloud would stay over the Tabernacle for only a few days, so the people would stay for only a few days, as the Lord commanded. Then at the Lord’s command they would break camp and move on.

I cannot predict the leading of the Holy Spirit in my life, but I know with certainty that where he leads, there I will find God’s purpose is fulfilled, God’s provision is revealed, and my heart is filled with God’s peace. Of course, I would love to know exactly what the Spirit of God is up to at all times—I’m a bit of a control freak in that regard. I bet you are, too! But we are not the Holy Spirit, and that is a very good thing.

Many Biblical writers spoke of the wonderful unpredictability of the Great Predictable. The Great Predictable; by that I am referring to a God who is always good, loving, wise and kind, but whose ways are inscrutable.

Isaiah said, “Who has known the mind of the LORD, and who has instructed him as his counselor?” (Isaiah 40:13) Paul wrote in Romans 11:34, “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” Again in 1 Corinthians 2:16, Paul says, “Who can know the LORD’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?” Jesus said of the Holy Spirit, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” The wonderful unpredictability of the Great Predictable!

We don’t fully understand the movement of the Holy Spirit, but we can fully trust that his movements are perfect. He never makes a mistake, never leads us into a box canyon with no exit, never takes us along a path that will destroy God’s work in our lives. We may not understand his ways, but we know that “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36) We can have complete confidence that he “works all things together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28). And we can unequivocally trust that where he does lead us the journey will be to produce the character of Christ within us. (Romans 8:29) We can rest in the care of the unpredictable Predictable.

Perhaps that is the greatest application for our lives today as we consider the story of the Israelites inexact but inexorable journey to the land that God promised them. What an amazing grace God provided for their journey: The Cloud of Glory. By day, the Cloud rested over the Tabernacle. By night, the Cloud lit up the sky above it as a pillar of fire. Could it be, in the practical terms, that the Cloud provided much needed shade in the hot desert sun and a night light in the deep darkness of the wilderness night for the people of God? But mostly, the children of Israel were led along the way for forty years in the wilderness as the Cloud lifted and journeyed on. As it did, they broke camp and followed. When the Cloud stopped, they set up camp. Sometimes for a day or two, sometimes for several months.

But one pattern was discernible in the movement of the Cloud: There was no discernable pattern. Why? Precisely because God wanted to remind the Israelites—and by extension, you and me—that God is God and we are not. His ways are inscrutable. And perhaps this was God’s exact plan; he was intentionally demonstrating for them that that it was God himself who was leading them, and that he who had led them faithfully to this point could be trusted to lead them faithfully to the next.

Again, because we do not have utter prophetic clarity as to the leading of the Holy Spirit, we can still be certain that in his wonderful unpredictability, he is still—and always—the Great Predictable. He can be trusted. That was true for the Israelites, and that is true for you. At the end of the day, your testimony will be that God has led you all along the way.

One more insight from this passage: When the Cloud is not leading you in any discernable way, stay put and be obedient to the last thing God showed you. Our text says, “If the cloud remained over the Tabernacle for a long time, the Israelites stayed and performed their duty to the Lord.” Too many Christians get restless as they wait for a “word from the Lord” as to what they are to do next. Until you get a clear sense that the Cloud is leading you, stay put and perform your duty to the Lord. What is your duty? The last thing God gave you to do.

God can be trusted—whether leading you to stay put or to move on. After all, he is the wonderful unpredictable Great Predictable!