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Numbers 33 - Where Have You Been and Where are You Going?

Writer's picture: Dan PotterDan Potter

Marge and I love to travel. We love to go and see new things and experience the goodness of an amazing, diverse world that God has made. As we do travel, we have a plan. Usually a loose one but a plan none the less. On our journey a few weeks ago, it took us to the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. Specifically, the cities of Cancun, Playa Del Carmen, Tulum and Cozumel. As we progressed through our journey, we used air travel, Uber, Taxi, water ferry and walking to get around. All planned. You see, to get around and move from one place to another you need a plan. There’s a quote that says, “if you fail to plan, plan to fail.” And another that says, “if you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.” Planning is essential to know where you want to go and how you’ll get there.


Since we’ve returned from that trip, we’ve had countless memories to recount. We often talk of the great times and as a result, the fun memories they provide. In fact, just yesterday we were talking about when we swam through a cenote, pronounced “see-no-tay." A cenote is a huge flooded limestone cave that you swim through under the care of a professional guide. Within that cave are once in a lifetime sight and sounds. Crystal clear chilly water, bats hanging from the ceiling, glistening stalagmites and stalactites and when the guide turned off his light, a darkness so intense you could feel it. On this trip, we first planned where we were going and then later, we recounted where we had been.


Numbers 33 follows just this pattern. Where are you going and where have you been. The chapter starts out like a road map with pins all along a travel route. As the Israelites fled the slavery of Egypt, they followed Moses, but who did Moses follow? Simple, Moses followed God. I’ve been underlining in red every time the phrase “The Lord spoke to Moses” occurs since Genesis and it has to be close to a hundred by know. God was very careful to instruct Moses on exactly where the Israelites were going. God had a plan for the trip. In the first part of the chapter today, we see a recount of the trip thus far. Every single location is named, not one left out. It’s almost as if God is looking back and remembering the trip.


But then God shifts gears in the second part of the chapter and He starts looking ahead. He starts informing Moses of where He will be taking His people. He looked at where they had been and He know looks at where they are going. And where they are going is a place He has planned for them all along, the promised land that lies across the Jordan River. The land of Canaan.


Let’s talk life. How do you look at your journey with God and incorporate all of this information into where the tire hits the pavement? It’s one of those things that is easy to say yet hard to do. Let’s look at some ways you can follow the road map of God and hit the points He has marked for you.


1) Visit the past stops but don’t live there. Your past is important. God gave you your past to develop you, change you and refine you. Without your past, good or bad, you would not be who you are today. If your honest, even the bad moments of your past have worked out for good and changed the way you think and view your present. Popular signs and memes today will tell us to forget our past and that it cannot define us, but folks, your past was made by God and He does not make mistakes. Embrace your past and learn from it. But as you visit those past stops in your memory, it’s just that, a memory. You can’t live there, go back there, camp there or change that stop. Today is today and tomorrow is tomorrow but yesterday has happened and passed. If you’re dealing with a regret or sin issue from yesterday, you can’t live there. Jesus died and rose three days later, and it was all to cover that very sin that is agonizing your soul. Give it to Jesus and focus on the day He has made for you today. As you walk with God, hold His hand and look forward into the future He has for you. If you’re constantly looking back, you’ll trip on the future.


2) Realize it’s your future but it doesn’t belong to you. The Israelites knew they were going somewhere, they just didn’t know where. Why? Because God hadn’t told Moses yet. You see, God has a very definite, very specific plan for your life, but He doesn’t divulge it all at once or when you want it. Along with the locations for your journey He also has a very specific reasoning involved in it. He knows you because He made you and He deals with you accordingly. When the Israelites were camped in the desert, God appeared as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night. When the pillar moved, the people moved, and when the pillar stayed the people stayed. You should view your journey with God the same way, a life based on absolute obedience to Him and His guidance. We had a guide in that pitch black flooded Mexican cave and when he moved, you’d better believe we moved with him! Why? He knew that dark cave because he had been there countless times and because of that, He knew the way. Folks, God has your future in the palm of His hands, He knows every stop that you will make. Put your faith in God and realize that He is in control of your future. He made this world and He made you, let Him lead you.


3) Don’t panic. If you’ve ever read the funny book, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, it’s a story of an Earth guy that gets whisked away to space on a journey to help save the galaxy. All he is given is a book to guide him and on the inside of the front cover in huge letters is the phrase, “Don’t Panic!” When we have control completely taken away guess what? We panic. What will happen to me? Will I be OK? Will I have food to eat? Clothes to wear? Money to pay rent? You see, when we feel our control is taken away, we can quickly move into panic. But don’t panic, it doesn’t do any good anyway. In fact, I’ve got a secret to let you in on.


You have no control.


None. As you let that sink in, think on this, if it has first been given to you it can be taken away from you. Life, security, wealth, cars, houses, loved ones, jobs, clothes, health, looks, and on and on. You see, you need to, in your faith, fully realize that everything in our lives is a gift from God. Everything. There is nothing in your life that has not come from God. I know what your doing right now. Your playing a game in your head, thinking of all the stuff in your life to see if I’m right. You might say, no Dan, my car is mine I bought it with my own money. Well, where did your skills come from that got you the job that got you the money that bought the car? God made you and the skills and personality you have that got you that job. Oh, and by the way, that job can be taken away in the blink of an eye. It’s also a gift from God.


But as you process all this, remember, don’t panic. God is in control. Don’t just read those last words, believe them in your heart. God is in control. God is everywhere, all the time and He knows all. He is both before you and with you. He knows everything about your life and only wants the absolute best for you. (Rom 8:28) All you have to do is follow. Just like that cave guide we had, you stick close to God and follow where He leads you.


And what do you do to stick close to God? If you want to hear from Him you spend daily time studying His Holy Word, the Bible. Just as the hitchhiker’s guide book gave guidance, the Bible is our guide book. If you’re not in God’s Word every single day, you’ve lost the words of your guide in that dark cave. If you want to cry out to your guide and tell Him your lost or hurt, you pray. In the morning, at night, at work, in the car, in the moment. Folks, God wants to hear from you. He wants to know how you’re doing, how you’re feeling and what you’re thinking. If you’re not in constant prayer to Him throughout your day, you're severing the communications with your guide. Not smart.


Today, God has a plan for you. You can look back at where He’s taken you and you can be genuinely excited about where He is going to take you. Follow God closely each and every day and He will take you on an amazing, exciting and purposeful journey. And one day, you’ll look back and revel in the places you’ve been with God.


Blessings to you.


Aragonese Castle, Ischia, Italy

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