Directed by Design

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Recently, I attended a beautiful, elegant baby shower held in a small fellowship hall of a country church. A few young mothers brought their children, and most of them sat quietly and enjoyed their refreshments as peaceful conversations flowed throughout the room.

However, one energetic little boy had endured enough time with the ladies. Once he finished eating, he ran wildly throughout the room. He shouted so loudly that we could hardly hear one another.

Eventually, his mother called him over and softly stated, “I would love for you to walk.”

He nodded sweetly, backed away, and immediately took off running again.

When balloons started popping, gifts began toppling over, and older women began to give “the eye,” she called him back over and asked, “Did I not tell you to stop running?”

He replied confidently, “No…you said you would love for me to walk.”

The rambunctious little boy who desperately wanted to be outside, instead of cooped up in a room laced in pink, didn’t disobey out of defiance. He responded to exactly what he had heard. A preference had been given, not a command.

On my drive home, I began to consider how God, in His wisdom, did not leave His people with vague suggestions or gentle preferences when it came to holiness and obedience. He gave clear, direct instructions. Not because He is harsh, but because He is a good Father. He knows that without clarity, His children drift. Without direction, we disobey. Without order, we create chaos.

It struck me how perfectly this reflects what I had been studying in the book of Numbers.

In Numbers 1:1, the Israelites were in an “in-between” place. God had miraculously delivered them from bondage in Egypt, parted the Red Sea, defeated the mightiest army in the world, and then brought them to Mount Sinai. Then – they waited. For over a year, they remained in the wilderness.

Though our experiences are much different, we also endure wilderness seasons and times of waiting that simply make no sense to us and feel too burdensome to bear. Times when God has miraculously rescued us, led us to a specific place, or answered a desperate prayer, but then the next step is a complete mystery.

It’s confusing, frustrating, and downright miserable, but it’s also the sweetest place to be as we draw close to God, depend on Him breath by breath, and learn to follow His commands. It’s in these times that we realize “the wait” is not wasted time. It is intentional time, and most importantly, we realize that our God specializes in turning our wildernesses into sanctuaries.

The wilderness of Sinai was not a comfortable place. It was uninhabited, uncultivated, hot, dry, and filled with dangers. By every human standard, survival for an entire nation in that environment would have been impossible. Yet every single day, God faithfully provided food, water, direction, and protection.

God was not just sustaining His people; He was shaping them.

In Numbers 1:2, God instructs Moses to take a census. At first glance, this may seem like a simple counting exercise, but it reveals something deeper. Up to this point, the Israelites were likely functioning as a massive, disheveled mob. But in these verses, God gives specific instructions for structure, which reflects His character seen in Genesis 1. From the very beginning, God speaks order into what is formless. He is not a God of confusion, but of purpose and orchestrated design.

The census also served two more key purposes. First, it demonstrated God’s faithfulness. Around 500-600 years prior to this moment, God had promised Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky – even though Abraham and his wife were unable to have children at the time. What once seemed impossible was now visibly fulfilled.

Secondly, the census was a detailed battle plan. God was organizing His people into a mighty army. Though they had been living peacefully, He knew what lay ahead. God was calling His chosen people to be prepared to move forward in obedience and fight when necessary.

From a distance, the Israelites would have been a striking sight as they covered the surface of the land in such an organized fashion. Scripture tells us that surrounding nations were terrified by them. Not only because they were numerous, but because their unity reflected the beauty and presence of the one true God, who dwelt among them.

In Numbers 2, God gave detailed instructions for how the Israelites were to camp. Each tribe was assigned a specific place (east, south, west, north) around the tabernacle. Each had a designated order for setting out, and at the center of it all was the tabernacle, surrounded by the Levites.

Every camp had a place. Every tribe had a purpose. Every family had a position. Every step they took was ordered as they followed God’s path.

The Levites, however, had a different and unique role. Positioned at the very center, they were set apart for the service of the tabernacle. As the other tribes were counted and prepped for battle, the Levites were tasked with caring for the sacred elements, such as the ark, the lampstand, the altars, and the structure itself.

Their work was not glamorous. It was actually tedious, dangerous at times, and often overlooked. Yet, it was essential.

This is a powerful reminder to us that in God’s design, no role is insignificant. Some are highly visible, while others serve quietly behind the scenes, but for the church to function properly, all roles are necessary.

I imagine it would have been easy for the Levites, who were in the minority, to compare themselves to the larger, more prominent tribes and become discontented. Perhaps they looked at the tribe of Judah ahead of them and wondered what it would have been like to be one of the mighty warriors on the frontlines.

We face the same temptations today. It’s easy to look at others and wish for a different role, a different place in life, or a different assignment. But God has placed us exactly where we are for a reason and is faithfully leading us. In no way were the Levites “less than.” In fact, they were honored because they were strategically placed in the closest proximity to His presence. The place we should all desire to be the most.

Finally, in Numbers 10:11, the Israelites began to move forward as God lifted the cloud above the tabernacle. Although we associate them with wandering in the wilderness, Numbers 9:22-23 states that whether the cloud remained for two days, a month, or a year, they stayed. Only when God lifted the cloud did they set out.

They had not been wandering. They had been following the specific commands of the Lord.

It wasn’t until later, when they began to complain, doubt, and take matters into their own hands, that the wandering began. Their greatest downfall was not their circumstances or even their disobedience. It was their disbelief.

The very same struggle exists in us.

When we find ourselves in uncertainty, hardship, or seasons of waiting, we are quick to question God’s timing, compare our lives to others, and even long for the past – knowing that’s not where we belonged.

But like the Israelites, we are not without purpose and guidance in these times.

We, too, are in a sense camping according to God’s standards as we journey to our Promised Land. This world is not our home. We have been put in a specific place with an ordained position for the purpose of knowing God and making Him known.

God uses wilderness seasons to draw us closer to Him, deepen our trust, and reveal His power in ways we would have never seen otherwise.

He calls us to be faithful in our positions, whether they are seen or unseen. We are to move when He commands and wait when He says wait. Above all, we are to believe Him.

The question was never whether He was able.

The question is, do we trust Him enough to faithfully follow His direct commands?

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