Stops and Stations

There’s a tidbit in Scripture that has become exceptionally relevant in my heart over the past few weeks and months. Only in hindsight have I realized that this section has been relevant over the last few years. Most of us who have read this section just skip over it thinking it’s no longer relevant to our daily lives, similar to the genealogies. However, when we slow down enough to read and consider it, there are some great life lessons in these passages we have ignored.

In this instance I’m referencing Numbers 33 when Moses recounts the stops and stations of Israel while they wandered through the desert. Believe it or not, this chapter is important to you personally.

One of the things we are too often taught in Christianity is that the “Old Testament” is just historical background to the more important and relevant “New Testament.” In my own journey, I’ve discovered that these older writings are still applicable to our daily life and are expected to be influential in the way we live.

In Numbers 33 it is possible to review your life journey by understanding these different stops along the way. It takes brutal honesty with yourself along with an understanding that the waypoints in your mind may be different than what God sees, but the similarities are there. Reviewing Numbers 33 alongside the route of your own path will inform you of your walk with God in a different way. You will see when you were carried through difficult times and when you were rebellious and whiny over ridiculous circumstances. Perhaps, God will even give you a glimpse of where you are now.

Recently, Earlene and I have been in a season of temporary stops and stations along our journey. We’ve been learning and relearning many things about our faith over the last several years and it has been a challenging road. We recognize now that HaShem blessed us to travel this road side-by-side; many couples we know had to start alone until they found their spouse at some cross road.

It’s fascinating to line up life’s path with the stops and stations already mentioned. In Numbers 9:22 it references “whether for two days or a month or a year, while the cloud remained over the Tabernacle, Israel remained camped and would not set out.” In many respects, this has been our life. 

After the first few years of our marriage we sold our home with a certain goal in mind and we had expectations that it would only be a year or two until we bought another house in south Denver. It is obvious God had different plans.

After selling our home we’ve now been in two consecutive two year stops in different homes that we’re renting. This year we have managed to live in three places so far with what I perceive as four stations! And we pray that we are not done yet – begging for at least two more stations before the year is out.

We’ve been living in a townhouse in Southwest Denver for two years and we likely would have stayed there if not for His sign that it was time to move. Over the July 4^th weekend we packed up most of our belongings and moved them to Missouri and then we continued living in our Denver townhouse for another 6 weeks. While that was the same home, it was apparent to me that it was a new station. We were living in very different conditions as we were sleeping on an air mattress and had almost no furniture to speak of. It was a challenging time of transition, but also a time of blessing and review.

Our other stops this year have revealed some repetition of history for each of us. I often say “history repeats.” For me, we got to live in my father’s house for two weeks before leaving Colorado. For Earlene, we are currently living with her parents for a time before leaving for Israel. In the process, one lives through a repetition of history while the other is experiencing something new. Only now as I type this, I can recall some of the repetitive history my father experienced – how deep does that rabbit hole go? It’s weird to say the least, but it’s also an absolute blessing.

HaShem (God) has a great many ways to attract our attention to His plans. If we will but slow down and appreciate the stops, He shows His desire to teach us every step of the way. However, when we hear the trumpet’s blast, we need to be ready to uproot and move to the next station. As we are currently learning, another lesson along with this is that the next stop may not quite be what you expect.