Assurance

Ex 23:20 "Behold I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared."

I love how God has it all together. When uncertainty hits us, and it will, He knows what is going on. He has it all under control. He will keep us and He will bring us.

The children of Israel were out in the wilderness with no clue where they were going. All they knew was that they were follow a pillar of fire and a cloud and now they had to follow a bunch of laws that God had just laid out. God was pretty clear in what He wanted. There is no one who could say that they had not been informed or warned. Just do what He said and follow where He lead. It should not be all that difficult. (In fact, when you look as many of the laws, you can see the foundation for what we have codified today.)

And here was God's promise. I am sending an Angel before you. Now it is interesting, this Angel was not like any normal angel. The people had to obey Him and they should not provoke Him for God's Name was in Him. Now who could this be? I am thinking Jesus. Jesus was the Messenger who was going to go before them. And Jesus was going to keep them in the way and bring them to the place that God prepared for them.

There are two aspects of what this Angel was going to do that I need to hang onto. He was going to keep them in the way.

He was going to keep them, He was going to guard them. As they went along their journey, He was going to uphold them and protect them. He was going to guard their lives. How cool is that? I think the same promise that God gave the children of Israel He gives to me today. "I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you should go, I will guard you with my eye." Ps 32:8 God is always there. He is always guiding and protecting and guarding and keeping along this journey we call life.

Then "I will bring you into the place which I have prepared." Now God was talking about bringing the children of Israel into the promised land, but He is still doing this. "I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also." John 14:2,3 Jesus is still in the business of preparing a place. He is still in the business of bringing us to that place. God promised it to the children of Israel and it happened. He promised it to those of us who are His children, and it will happen.

As we remember what happened ten years ago today, God is there. As we go through different life circumstances, God is there. God has not changed. He has it all together. He has it all under control. He will keep us and He will bring us. (Written on 9-11-11)