Advent Day 6: Exodus 13:17-22

Read Exodus 13:17-22.

Ponder Exodus 13:17-22

• Where do you see imagery of light in these verses? Of darkness? 

• What does this passage reveal about God’s character? Explain. 

• Wilderness can be used in much the same way as the word “darkness,” implying a sense of chaos or lack of control. How do you see God displaying faithfulness to the Israelites even in the wilderness and darkness? 

• When has your journey of faith felt like a wilderness season? How did God display his faithfulness during that time? 

• God guided the Israelites through the wilderness with pillars of fire and cloud—for 40 years. What does that teach you about God’s faithfulness in the situations in your life that seem unending or out-of-control? 

Meditate on Exodus 13:17-22

If you’re anything like me, you use GPS navigation on your phone, well, a lot. I use it when I’m driving into the office because you never know what traffic will be like in Nashville. I use it on trips to familiar places, like my parents’ house, because there’s often road construction I don’t know about between here and there. Visiting a friend’s house for the first time? You better believe that GPS is on. 

When God invited Moses into his rescue plan, God didn’t leave Moses without guidance. Even as God directed the Israelites into a desert detour, he gave them guidance in the form of a pillar of clouds by day and a pillar of fire by night. Darkness would descend, but God would light the way. 

When chaos and uncertainty descend on my life, I’ll admit that most of the time, my first thought isn’t that God will light the way. It’s a cry to get me out of this mess, even if it’s a mess of my own making. But when the darkness comes, our merciful, faithful God does not abandon or forsake us. He seeks to lead us out of darkness, even if we have to wander for 40 years in a desert of our own making. 

Darkness will descend in your life, but it doesn’t have the final say. Trust God to light the way, whatever you’re facing today.