He Goes Before Us

Lately, I've been studying 1 Corinthians and I came across a passage that really encouraged me. In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul is writing to the people of Corinth and he tells them to remember their ancestors who had to travel in the wilderness. "I don't want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters, about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago. All of them were guided by a cloud that moved ahead of them, and all of them walked through the sea on dry ground." -1 Corinthians 10:1


After reading this, I went back and read Exodus 33 where Moses is speaking to God about leading the Israelites out of Egypt and the Lord told him, "I will personally go with you, Moses, and I will give you rest--everything will be fine with you." -Exodus 33:14


The Lord went ahead of the Israelites. It was God who led them out of Egypt because HE went before them. Going back to 1 Corinthians, Paul continues to write, "The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted he will show you a way out so that you can endure." -1 Corinthians 10:13


Paul tells us that the Lord is ALWAYS with us, and not only is He with us, He's in front of us, showing us the way. Paul was encouraging the Corinthians and he's encouraging us not to forget how God provided for the Israelites when they wandered in the wilderness. Just how God provided for them He provides for us today. He leads us and provides us a way out. He leads us out of our own Egypt (our sin, our temptations, our struggles) and leads us to the Promised Land (a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ).