You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. Then the LORD spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice. — Deuteronomy 4:11–12

The Torah portion for this week is Va’etchanan, which means “I pleaded,” from Deuteronomy 3:23–7:11, and the Haftorah is from Isaiah 40:1–26.

One of the greatest modern innovations to come out of Israel is the popular app “Waze.” Google valued the community-based GPS system so much that it bought the Israeli start-up for $966 million! What makes Waze so valuable is that it provides real-time information about which routes to take. It takes into account road closures, traffic, and other unforeseen conditions.

I just love Waze and it has changed driving forever. In Israel, late at night, I don’t have to fumble with maps. Waze tells me where to go. If there is a traffic jam up ahead and I need to take an alternate route, Waze has got me covered. Turn here; go there — the directions come exactly when I need them. Sometimes I can’t understand where I am headed, or why a particular route was chosen, but Waze always gets me where I’m going.

In this week’s Torah reading, Moses recounted the Israelites’ experience at Mount Sinai. He recalled how the nation stood at Mount Sinai “while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.” Then the nation heard the voice of God: “You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice.” It was then the children of Israel received directions for living from God on behalf of the entire world.

Now, if you’ll notice, Scripture stresses that the people only heard a voice – they didn’t see anything. Isn’t that how it is for us even today? We hear the voice of God in the form of a deep knowing. We just know that we are supposed to take that job. Or we just know that this person is the one we are supposed to marry. Or we just know that we are supposed to take the next step in pursuing a dream.

But we don’t see anything. There is no neon sign pointing out the right direction. We can’t see how our provisions will be provided. We can’t see how we’ll get through the tough times we might be experiencing. Our lives may seem confusing and challenging, with “black clouds and deep darkness.” Yet, we act on faith because, although we cannot see the answer, we can hear it.

Friends, if we follow God’s directions, even in times of darkness, we will always get where we need to go. God’s directions are in real time and take into account any difficulties that lay ahead. He has laid out a personalized map for us that will get us to our personal destinations. God’s Word will always be the best guidance available; as it says in Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”