Don’t Move Until God Tells You To: Lessons from Numbers Nine

Listen to today’s passage – Numbers 8 – 10 

Follow along on Blue Letter Bible – Numbers 8

Second Milers also read – Acts 13 – 15; Proverbs 18; Psalms 91 – 95

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Joshua 1:8

Read the “0218 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today by Charles Spurgeon.

Read a previous post from today’s reading – “Wait Until I Pray“

Have you ever felt stuck, waiting for direction on a big life change—like a move, job, relationship, or ministry step? In Numbers 9, God gave Israel a vivid picture of how to wait: Don’t move until He moves.

“At the commandment of the LORD they rested in the tents, and at the commandment of the LORD they journeyed: they kept the charge of the LORD, at the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses.” – (Numbers 9:23)

In Numbers 9, the Bible tells us that the children of Israel only moved when God moved. They followed the cloud by day, and the fire by night. If the cloud rested, they stayed in one spot; if the the cloud moved, they followed it. This kept life pretty simple for them. They did not have to make a decision about where they were going to go, they just followed God.

We can do the same thing today when deciding where we are going to go, or what we are going to do. We can simply follow God. Determining the will of God in our time is just as easy as it was in Bible times. God guides us through his Word, through prayer, and through counsel. Let’s say you are contemplating a move to a new geographic location. You need to check out what the Bible says about that place. Is there a good, Bible believing church for your family?

The Bible says a lot about people moving. Abraham moved into Egypt after being told that Canaan was the place of God’s blessing. He had some problems in his life as a result of that move. There are many other examples and principles in the Bible that will help you to make a decision. One thing is for sure, you do not want to move simply for financial reasons, or because you think the grass will be greener somewhere else. Lot moved because the grass near Sodom looked good, but he ended up losing everything, including most of his family.

Prayer and counsel are also important steps in determining a decision. All three need to be in agreement, however; and you know what the Bible says about a threefold chord (Ecclesiastes 4:12), right? It’s not easily broken. Pray about your decision, but be aware that God will never reveal in prayer something that goes against the principles found in the Word of God.

Then you need to get counsel. Have some people in your life that you can go to for advice. People who will be honest with you. People that won’t tell you just want you want to hear. Don’t “shop” for counsel, either. People often will go from person to person until they find someone who will agree with them. That’s not counsel. Ask your pastor, ask your parents, or ask some godly person in your life who will tell you the truth.

When are you going to move, and where? Who are you going to marry, and when? Where will you go to college? Which church will you attend? Where will you work? These are all important decisions. You don’t have to decide these for yourself. Follow God. He will direct your path and He will light the way. I promise if you follow God all the way, you will be pleased with what He does with your life.

Steps for Discerning the Will of God
  1. Start with Scripture: Does the choice align with God’s revealed will? Prioritize a Bible-believing church community (Hebrews 10:24–25), godly relationships (e.g., marrying a believer who pursues Christ—2 Corinthians 6:14), and honoring God in work (Colossians 3:23). Avoid paths that contradict clear biblical principles.
  2. Pray persistently: Seek God’s peace and direction (Philippians 4:6–7; James 1:5). God won’t contradict His Word in prayer.
  3. Seek counsel: Turn to trustworthy voices—pastor, parents, mature believers—who speak truth in love, not just what you want to hear (Proverbs 11:14; 15:22). Avoid “counsel shopping.”
  4. Watch for providence: God often guides through open/closed doors, circumstances, and inner conviction as we walk faithfully in what we already know.

Ultimately, as Proverbs 3:5–6 promises:

“5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” (Prov 3:5–6)

Following God wholeheartedly leads to a life of purpose and blessing, even through challenges. When we surrender the decisions to Him, we can trust He’ll direct our paths and bring joy in the outcome.

May the Lord give you clear guidance in whatever steps lie ahead. He is faithful to lead those who seek Him!

What decision are you facing today? Pause, pray, and ask the Lord to guide. Share in the comments if you’d like prayer—I’d love to join you in seeking Him!


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The Mind of the Lord: Discerning the Will of God When Faced with Difficult Decisions

Listen to today’s passage – Leviticus 24 – 25

Follow along on Blue Letter Bible – Leviticus 24

Second Milers also read – John 17 – 18; Proverbs 12; Psalms 61 – 65

Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Psalm 47:1

Read the “0212 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by Charles Spurgeon.

Read a previous related post from this passage – “Rest for the Land“

Have you ever faced a decision that felt urgent—like a family conflict, job change, or moral dilemma—and felt tempted to just react in the heat of the moment? Today’s passage shows us a better way:

“And they put him in ward, that the mind of the LORD might be shewed them.” (Leviticus 24:12)

Did you catch the phrase – “the mind of the Lord?” The New Testament echoes this idea:

“For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:16)

God wants us to have his “mind,” especially as we grapple with difficult decisions and challenging problems.

In our reading passage today in Leviticus 24:10 – 16, we read about a man who had a mother who was an Israelite from the tribe of Dan, but his father was an Egyptian, presumably one of the mixed multitude that followed the Jews out of Egypt. The story tells us that this man (the son) “blasphemed the name of the Lord and cursed” (Leviticus 24:11). The Israelites brought the man that blasphemed God to Moses, but they were not sure what should be done to this young man by way of punishment, so they put him in prison (“in ward”) until they could find out “the mind of the Lord.” In other words, they were trying to discover God’s will.

My thought this morning has little to do with the fact that the man blasphemed. Nor does it have anything to do with the mixed nationalities of his parents. What caught my attention was the fact that Moses and the Israelites did not react hastily to the situation, they waited until they knew what God wanted them to do. They want to be sure that they knew “the mind of the Lord ” regarding what should be done to this man.

What a great lesson this is to all of us reading this passage today. So many times when faced with new or difficult problems, we react rashly before we carefully discern the will of God regarding the situation. Proverbs 3:5-6 states:

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

There is a recipe for discerning the will of God that contains four ingredients:

1  Wait – don’t do anything until you know for sure that you are doing the will of God. Too many of us rush into a decision before we have had a chance to determine what God wants us to do. My children would sometimes come to me asking for permission to go with a friend somewhere, and sometimes they would need an answer right away, and in those cases the answer would always be “no.” Why? Because I didn’t want to be rushed into making a bad decision. I can still picture their disappointed faces when I said “no” because they were trying to rush me. Imagine the tension in the camp as the people held back, refusing to act until they heard from God.

2  Study – Go to God’s Word and see what it says about the problem you are facing or the decision you need to make. Bible principle will answer so many questions before they are even asked. This is why it is so important to be reading daily in the Word of God and to study it often (2 Tim 2:15). 

3  Pray – Ask God to give you wisdom to help you specifically apply His word to your unique situation. In our story today, the specific situation that Moses faced had not clearly been addressed in the Law, so they needed God’s help to figure out what to do in this unique set of circumstances.

4  Counsel – Seek the wisdom of others who may have already faced the situation that you are facing. Seek the help of those who are students of the Word, and have the ability to discern God’s will through study and prayer. “In the multitude of counselors there is safety.”

When deciding on a major life change like moving for a job, wait before signing anything, study verses on seeking wisdom, pray daily, and talk to trusted believers.

We may be tempted to think that the punishment for this young man’s crime was kind of harsh, but at least we know that the decision to stone him did not come from Moses or one of the other elders of Israel; it came from God. Moses and the men of Israel made sure that they were doing exactly what God wanted them to do.

What difficult decision are you facing today? Will you wait on the Lord, study His Word, pray for wisdom, and seek godly counsel?


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