In Numbers 13 and 14, we find the language and definitions of true faith and unbelief. The ten spies who had gone up into the land had returned with a report of what they had seen. “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large” (Numbers 13:27-28). So the report was both positive and negative.
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you” (Psalm 32:8-9).
We know what it means when we hear it said that people have “the touch of God” upon them. They may be simple men or women by the world’s standards, but they have been alone with God and they speak with authority and conviction of the Holy Spirit. The prophet Daniel was such a man.
Daniel was disciplined, courageous, especially gifted; an ordinary believer might feel he could not measure up. But Daniel is an example of a great man who was wholly human and possessed the frailties of the human condition. His story is meant to teach us how to touch God — and be touched by him.
The prophet Isaiah often preached about God’s vengeance against sin. He spoke of the day of doom and despair coming upon those living in rebellion, yet in the midst of one of his most frightening messages about the Lord’s day of wrath, Isaiah stopped and cried out, “I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord … according to His mercies, according to the multitude of His lovingkindnesses” (Isaiah 63:7).
The cloud, that misty covering that ofttimes falls upon God's people, is not a blot in God's handwriting. With Jesus, clouds come as a part of His train of glory. Clouds are really not our enemies; they do not hide His face; they are not warnings of an approaching storm. Once you understand that clouds are instruments of divine love, they should no longer be feared.
You will never understand your trials and sufferings until you understand the meaning of holy clouds.
"And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them in the way..." (Exodus 13:21).
King David said, “Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done; and Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order” (Psalm 40:5).
“How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!” (Psalm 139:17).
While walking up a country road in New Jersey, I had a good talk with my Lord. I cried, "Lord, I can't live with fear and worry of all kinds. I want to face whatever the future holds with rest, joy and simple trust! I want total freedom from all fear and worry!"
The Holy Spirit quickened me: "The key to freedom from all fear and worry is found in two words — sparrows and hair. Remember what I said in Matthew 10:28-33. 'One of them (sparrows) shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered'" (verses 29-30).
“One of the rulers of the synagogue … fell at [Jesus’] feet and begged Him earnestly saying, ‘My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live’” (Mark 5:22).
“So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten” (Joel 2:25).
Did you waste years before you repented and surrendered all to Jesus? You may think, “I could have been so much deeper in Christ. I could have brought so much joy to his heart. I can never make up all those wasted years.”
In the Old Testament, we read the story of Hezekiah, king of Judah, who received a letter from the devil. Sennacherib, king of Assyria signed it, but it was directly from hell. Sennacherib means “man of sin” and he represents Satan, the god of this world.