In a few days, our family will be headed to the lake and mountains of New Hampshire for a vacation. This will be our thirtieth summer going minus a summer or two.

This week away brings relaxation and a rest to my soul like no other place I know. Today as I anticipate my first morning, waking up to the view of lake and mountains, I remembered another day – the last day of a previous vacation …

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It was the last day of our vacation. How had it gone so quickly?

I was out of bed at 5AM. The comforting aroma of the coffee dripping enveloped me as I waited for my first sips to fully awaken me. The kitchen was dark as if it was the middle of the night. The water and mountains were still and black until about 5:40 when the sun began to rise.

I read my Jesus Lives devotional, several times, for what God would say to me in this moment:

“My Presence continually moves along before you ”“ keeping you from stagnating and showing you the way forward. In spite of the difficulties of the arduous trail you are following, your success is certain: I will be found by you!”Â  (pages 88-89)

We would be leaving, going back home and the days ahead are unknown to each of us. We think we know what they hold but, in actuality, this is presumptuous of us as we truly do not know at all.

I turned in my Bible to read, in Exodus, where God promises to go with His people. They wandered in the wilderness, longer than ever originally intended, and yet God went with them. He gave them a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. They were in the wilderness, en route to the promise, not sure of the way. The only certainty was that He was with them.

As the sun rose (which was just beautiful FYI) and the burst of orange spread over the lake and mountains, I remembered He is also with each one of us. We each are desirous of “success” in the days ahead and for each of us, I imagine “success” looks differently.

And here’s the thing … the only “success” which is certain is that He will be found by us as we, individually, seek Him. So if success is finding Him, think of this … He was found in the cloud and He was found in the pillar of fire. He looked different at different times of day.

I cannot help but wonder this morning if part of our problem is our own expectations. Our expectations of what He should be, what He should do, and how He should do it can often get in the way of finding Him. In other words, we are looking for the pillar of fire when He is the cloud, or looking for the cloud when He is in the pillar of fire.

“If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.” (Jeremiah 29:13, NLT)

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My prayer for the days ahead is simple – May we each experience the success of simply finding Him in our days.

No expectations.
However He is found.
In the cloud and in the fire.

Simply find Him.