Getting to Your Destination

Receiving lessons from God in a time you least expect.

                                                                               -Jenno Marco Misa

     Yesterday, I published a new entry in my blog called “God’s GPS system and Traffic Light’. It talks about knowing the right direction inorder to get to your destination without getting lost. Then I went on to discuss about the Pillar of Fire and Cloud and how the Spirit of God has become the modern day version of these pillars.

     Since I became a believer, I stopped believing in coincidence. I believe things happen for me, not to me, as what Joel Osteen often says. Well, this experience of mine has really blown me out of my patience and exhausted all the energy I had. Here it goes:

     I work as an Interior designer here in Singapore. Whenever a customer wants to engage with us, part of our job is to visit their house. And yes, that means we get to enter from one house to another. This time, I had an appointment at one of the Condo units located along West Coast Drive.

First attempt: saw the wrong overhead bridge

    Before I took off from our office, I was convinced that I know the place. I assumed that it was just somewhere around the train station. With this, I did not spend some time checking on the map to see what the best route was. Besides, I had my iPad with me to help me locate the place.

  When I alighted at the bus stop right in front of the train station, I immediately went to an overhead bridge nearby. I remember hearing my customer that it was ‘near’ an overhead bridge. One thing about Singapore, there’s a lot of overhead bridges here to give easy access to pedestrians and avoid the danger of crossing the busy highways and streets.

 Moments went by, I continued walking and walking. Then I walked some more, and walked even further. Starting to get impatient, I called the customer and he indicated that I was not on the right place. He told me that I was directly opposite to where I’m supposed to be. Anger started to sprout within me.

   Then I walked to the opposite side and lo and behold, the iPad map said I needed to walk very far. I was really angry, not to myself but to God. I asked Him: “How can You let this happen to me? Just yesterday I wrote about directions and how Your Spirit helps us in determining which way to go everytime we come into the crossroads.” I was literally blaming God. I knew that as God, He is all knowing. And with that, I expected Him to really tell me which way to go.

     I started walking from 10:30 and found the place around 11:25. And yes, that’s how far it was! With all the sweat flowing, something like a holy anger rose within, and I went on to blame God again for the second time. I told Him these words: “You knew it was this far, don’t You? Why did You not ask me to take a cab or a public transport? Why did You allow me to walk this far? How can You do this to Your beloved?”

     I got nothing but anger inside my mind during those times. Then here comes the best part now. I found the place already, and you would have thought that the agony of this story is over. When I lifted my eyes, I saw a huge and very long hoarding that is blocking the way. Hoarding is a means of protection by using metal sheets or other materials to fence an area where there is a construction going on. Then I told myself, “That’s it.’ I’m going back. There is no way that I’m going to climb over that hoarding just to get to that house.”

The whole place was hoarded up. There seemed to be no way.

     Right there and then, I heard a voice within me asking, “How do you think did the children of Israel feel when they had fought every fight, overcome every enemy, endured every journey, and made it in front of the Promised Land, only to find out that there was a huge wall blocking their way towards their destination? (This is the story about the walls of Jericho). When I heard the voice, the more I got angry because I knew it was God talking to me and teaching me Bible stories very untimely!

     I was already late for the meeting and I was obviously lost, and here He is, teaching me about the Bible in the midst of all these mess! In my thoughts, I said things like “God, can you try sometime later? I’m kind of lost now and I don’t know if the customer is still there waiting for me”.

     But the voice went on to elaborate more about what happened on that story when the children of Israel saw the huge walls of Jericho. With this experience of mine, I felt very exhausted and frustrated. Exhausted because I travelled on foot a long way, and frustrated because there were ‘huge walls’ (hoarding) blocking me from my destination.

     Then I told Him, I’m not going there anymore. I have lost my patience and I’m now going back to office. As soon as I started turning back, the voice asked me to look behind just one more time. Then I saw another street, just adjacent to the road that was closed up, and I thought to myself that “Hey, that ‘might’ lead me to the destination.”

      Curios and a bit relaxed now (but still exhausted though), I went down to that street. Then the voice asked me, “What did I tell Joshua to do before the walls of Jericho fell down?”. I answered “Shout”. Then He said, “Before that?” . Then I answered again “March around for seven times”. Then I heard He said “Right”. Then I became angry again, thinking that He was asking me to march around the place seven times. But just as I was about to march around, I saw the entrance gate of the Condo Units and I was so delighted to see that and immediately rushed in.

     While undergoing through this entire patience-melting journey, I realized and learned many things. Firstly, just because you are lost does not mean God can’t get you to where He has destined you to be. Many of us may have started on the wrong footing, yet God’s grace is so sufficient that He still leads us no matter how lost we have been. I think one of the reasons why I found my destination today is because I surrendered looking for that house using my own effort. The moment I surrendered, God worked. But as long as I was restless and busy trying to figure out the way, God cannot work in me.

     Secondly, just because you got lost by your own doing does not mean that God leaves you alone in finding out a way back to the right track. No. In fact, the Bible tells us that it is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4). I did not check my route beforehand, so I got lost. I could say that I got lost along the way because of my own doing. But how deep and wide is His grace that He still led me to the right way, despite me blaming everything to Him.

      Thirdly, just because you did something wrong does not mean you can’t hear God’s voice anymore. In fact, the Bible also tells us that after Adam and Eve partook of the wrong tree, they heard God’s voice and they were afraid (Genesis 3:10). Also, after Cain murdered his brother Abel, he heard God’s voice and he answered Him back impolitely with these words “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4: 8-9). When I heard that still small voice from within, I became angry because I didn’t want to have a Bible lesson at that time, in the midst of all the mess I have gotten into. But God, being all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-present, has everything in His hands. He does not panic nor get nervous. He is peaceful, and His peace is very contagious.

      Fourthly, just because you feel angry toward God does not mean He gets angry at you too. No. And it’s all because of the cross of Jesus where the wrath of God against all our sins and lawlessness was fully satisfied. And since God does not get angry at you, He is very persistent in comforting you until His peace dawns on you. This made me so convinced of what my Senior Pastor Joseph Prince has shared, “God is actually the One holding your hand and not you holding His hand.”

      Lastly, just because your time was wasted when you got lost does not mean God cannot restore it. God controls the time. Although I was lost and got late for the meeting for over an hour, I still managed to meet them without them being angry at me. How gracious God is! Here’s a bonus: I was so thirsty when I got there. In my mind, I thought of asking God to provide me water out of those walls. True enough, the owner offered me a drink, not through the walls though. The meeting ended with everything on my favor: the client was not angry, I got the necessary details, I did my job, and best of all, I found my way.

      Isn't God a God of grace to use people like me to write about directions when I myself is very poor in it? Did He not say to let the weak say I am strong? To let the poor say I am rich? And to let the lame say I can walk?

    I will never be afraid to write about my weaknesses because in it, God’s strength is magnified. In every trial, grace super abounds. And in every crossroad, wisdom overflows. That’s the God that you and I serve!

God’s GPS System and Traffic Light

See Jesus lead us the way the Israelites were led by the Pillar of Cloud and Fire.

                                                                             - by Jenno Marco Misa

  Knowing where to go, which directions to follow, and what means of transportation to take brings much comfort to anyone traveling. Either you’re driving your own car, taking the public vehicle, or walking down the streets, knowing which way to go is a must if you want to reach your destination without getting lost.

     Nowadays, technology has made traveling very well guided with the advent of maps on mobile phones, not to mention the GPS system that’s helping out many since it came out in the late 1980’s.

     When it comes to God’s system, many people wonder if there is also a ‘GPS’ navigation system that tells the believer where to go or which road to take. As direction really matters, a believer normally looks up to God before he or she makes a decision, especially if it is a crucial one.

     In our lives, we all face many crossroads wherein a decision can make or break the future by its outcome. Some have crossroads in their marital life - a decision where not only the couple are involved, but also the future of the children. Some have crossroads in their career - moving into another job with a better pay or staying in the same job with a better schedule. Whatever it is, all of us, believer or not, come to a point where we ask “which way should I go?”

    Back in the time when God called Moses to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt, God did not just ask them to come out but personally led them on their way to the Promised Land. And it wasn’t something that’s invisible. God Himself led them in a Pillar of cloud by day, and a Pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21).

     The Pillar of Cloud kept the children of Israel shaded from the heat of the sun, while the Pillar of Fire kept them warm during the night. As they were journeying in the desert, the weather could be very playful and extreme: during a sunny day it could be scorching hot, yet can be extremely cold during the night. 

     Now, there have been many teachings and different approaches on this story. Many believe that God was demonstrating His protection wherever we go and whichever direction we take. But one important detail I would want to emphasize is that part which it says that “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 (KJV)”.

     Simplifying the verse, we can say that God was before them, in front of them and leading the way for them. They didn’t have to worry which way to go or what route to take. This makes sense to me as Jesus Himself said that He (referring to Himself) is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). I believe that in this story of the Bible, Jesus, in His pre-incarnate appearance as being the revealed arm of the LORD, was the One leading the children of Israel. Exodus 14: 19 says “Then the Angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them”. When Jesus moved in between the Children of Israel and the Egyptian armies, He caused darkness to the latter so that they were not able to launch any attack to the Israelites all night.

     Jesus, being the Pillar of Cloud and Fire, did not only lead them where to go. He also was the ‘traffic light’ of the children of Israel. Numbers 9:17 tells us that “And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed: and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents (KJV)”. 

     The Pillar of Cloud and Fire did not only lead them, but also gave them the ‘go and stop’ signal. They were guided both on which way to go, and when to go.

    One may say that these are all good back then but what about now? What about in the present times where the Pillar of Cloud or the Pillar of Fire is unheard of? How does a believer determine his direction in life? Is there a sort of an ‘access’ to this Pillar of Cloud and Fire?

     The answer is ‘Yes’. When the Day of Pentecost was fully come, He poured His Spirit and appeared in a form of a rushing mighty wind and in ‘divided tongues as of a flame of fire”. “And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them (KJV)”. Does that ring a bell to you? 

     The Pillar of Cloud and Fire was leading the Israelites on the outside because it could not rest on their inside back then because there wasn’t any sacrifice yet that could clean them perfectly so God can dwell in them. That is why you will see the cloud resting on their tabernacle – an external structure where God dwells. Now under the New Covenant established on the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God has already been slain and sacrificed. But the Lamb did not remain in the tomb as He rose up like a Lion and defeated death as He rose from the dead and sat down at the right of the Father. Now that the blood of Jesus has cleansed us perfectly, the Spirit of God (who is both the Fire and Cloud) can now dwell in us. He does not have to stay on an external tabernacle anymore, but can now dwell in our bodies, which is the temple of God (1 Corinthians 6:19).

     But how come we don’t see it? How come we don’t see any cloud or fire from us? Could it be that the Bible is just pacifying us, making us believe that God is here even if it is not true? 

     That’s where faith comes in. Just because you don’t see it does not mean He is not there. This event in the Bible was NOT merely written so as to pacify us during the tough times and make us believe that God is really leading us when actually He is not. No! A thousand times NO! This was placed in the Bible so that today we will all know that there is a guide within us - that still small voice on the inside. I submit to you, the more we speak in tongues, the more wisdom will flow in us enabling us to make better decisions-decisions that always lead us to green pasture and still waters. 

     How do we know that we have made the right decisions? What is the indication that the outcome was influenced by the Holy Spirit?

     It is the presence or the absence of peace and rest. The leading of the Spirit always bear peace as its fruit – still waters. The absence of peace in your situation indicates that there is something that needs to be corrected. Inorder to rectify this, tune it to Holy Spirit’s voice by speaking in tongues. When you do this, listen to that still small voice from the inside and through that, I believe, is the way to get out from a troubled situation to a place of peace and rest. When you feel that indescribable sense of peace enveloping you, you know that God was leading you. In Hebrew, it is called Shalom.

     People may talk us out of it and may even say things like Christianity is a ‘funny’ religion as we believe in things that are unseen. Yet, that is the very essence of faith. Just because we don’t see it does not mean it’s not there. The world says that ‘Unless I see it, I won’t believe’. But faith says “I believe it, therefore I see it’. The eyes of faith can see things that unbelieving eyes could not.