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Ryken: If only a bright cloud would lead us directly



Sometimes we wish that God would give us the same kind of guidance today. If only a bright cloud would lead us directly to the school we should attend, the job we should take, or the person we should marry! Yet the truth is that God gives us all the divine guidance we need, and in a much better form. He has given us the fire of his Spirit, and now we have his glorious presence with us all day and all night. It is as if the column of cloud and the pillar of fire have come right inside us! Jesus said that the Holy Spirit “lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:17). The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. Since he is divine, the Bible declares that “the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you” (1 Pet. 4:14). Now part of the Spirit’s glorious work is to give us direction for life. Jesus promised that the Spirit would guide us into all truth (John 16:13a), and now by the power of his holy presence, God is always with us to guide us.

Ryken, P. G., & Hughes, R. K. (2005). Exodus: saved for God’s glory (pp. 382–383). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

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