Crossing The Red Sea

       I am not a water person in the sense of enjoying swimming, going into the the ocean, etc.  For me, large bodies of water are just too cold to be enjoyable.  (That said, the waters around Hawaii are warm and I suspect there are other places that are, too!  My husband teases me that I like water to be bath water—- and that includes pool water!  He’s probably right!)

But standing on the beach, just out of reach of the water, ocean waves are fascinating.  It’s impressive to watch the wave build well away from me, grow with increasing intensity as it moves toward the shore and finally crests. The power of these waves is incredible.

After witnessing these kinds of events, I’ve always been in awe when I try to picture the waters in the Red Seas parting.  It’s a river, not the ocean.  So that idea alone is mind boggling.  Rivers don’t have giant waves like that.  Yet it did.  And not only did the waters part, the water formed a giant wall on both sides!  Again, water doesn’t do that all by itself.  Yet it did!  Then all the newly, fleeing Israelites, walked across on dry ground to the other side.  That also doesn’t happen.  But it did!

After they crossed, the water came back together and took the lives of the oncoming army.  The Lord told them to just be still and he would fight for them.  And he did.    (Exodus 14:13-14)

As Believers, most of us can remember our lives before we accepted Christ, for our salvation.  We lived in darkness and slavery.  The Israelites in a very literal sense also lived in darkness.  Their world, under the rule of the Pharaoh, was a dismal way to live.  They were in slavery.

It took a choice of faith to apply the blood to their doorposts, as commanded by God to protect their families and loss of their first born.  That wasn’t supposed to happen.  But it did. The crossing of the Red Sea is nothing less than a great illustration of God’s saving power.  He said ‘be still; and I’ll take of it’.  

When we accept Christ as Savior, God is telling us to ‘be still and let me fight for you!’  We aren’t much different than the Israelites, however.  We celebrate because we know we have been saved —just like the Israelites did—and will one day live in eternity with him.  But we flounder because the world entices us with all kinds of deception.  We fall off the path before us and go our own way.  Isn’t that just what God’s rescued people did?

It’s so reassuring to know that God is with us regardless of our circumstances and even our choices.  We are accountable, however, for those choices.  We must choose to believe, trust, wait, and even be still and ‘let God be God’.  

While we recall the all the men and women who have given their all for our country all these years, this Memorial Day weekend--and week, through the many different wars and disputes; we should also focus on the One who gave His all so we can spend eternity in a place of love and light.  Like Pharaoh’s army who perished beneath the waves of the Red Sea, when we don’t know Jesus as Lord and Savior, we will perish into a world of horror, pain and an eternity of despair.

Instead, let’s remember to watch the waves, and ‘be still' as God fights our battles for us.

Photo Credit

Silence and Solitude With God

     I just finished reading a book called, “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry” by John Mark Conner.  The premise of it is how our lives are filled with so much ‘busy-ness’, we don’t have time to ‘spend time’ with the Father.  When things get crazy—and they usually do every day, the one thing we put up on the shelf, is taking time to recharge our souls. 

The distractions of the day have our emotional and spiritual health in such disarray, we collapse beneath it.  It has us turning on all the sounds we can imagine, to drown out the noise we hear in our head and hearts.  We are left feeling lonely, depressed, sad, feeling trapped, dreaming of a better life, and frustrated with the life we live.  Even defeated.

Among other things, the writer tells us we must find silence and solitude to be able to find ourselves and allow us to come back to the present.  Reducing our speed of life, we can feel again, breathe, and better walk like Jesus walked.

Many of us are all about background noise.  Either the radio or CD player is on, but more likely the TV.  I know several folks who feel like they can’t survive without some kind of noise in the background.  It’s makes a body wonder what they hear in their heads when there is silence.  Being afraid to listen to your own thoughts, (in my humble opinion) is a little scary.

Even the very idea of boredom, in our day of technology is nearly non-existent!  Think of it.  When you are waiting at the doctor’s office what do you do?  If you get stuck in traffic for more than 3o seconds what do you reach for?  When out on a run or doing other exercise or even work, what are you wearing?  The answer for many of us is some kind of device; an iPhone  a listening device in our ears, or for some even a lap top computer.  The idea being, we find some kind of distraction.  The last thing we want is to ‘be there' with nothing to do—or listen to!  What are we afraid of?

An antidote for this loss of ourselves, is solitude; alone time-with the Father.  Jesus was all about finding a ‘solitary place’.  And, it seemed the busier he got, the more time he took to recharge with God. There’s one story about where Jesus had preached all day, and still took time in a solitary (private) place to connect with the Father!  Do we do that?  Again, when we get busy do we reach for time with God, or do we put him up on the shelf and say, “I’ll get back to my Bible and prayer” later”?  I’m guilty of putting it off!  

Jesus is described as even getting up early to steal away to have private time with God before his day started.  Are we willing to sacrifice sleep to commune with the source of our strength and faith?  For continued relationship, we need to create a space for our attention and connection God.

God has exceedingly abundant grace for each of us.  He’s provided the means for us to get through this chaotic world, if we’d but recognize it.  When we stop long enough to plug in, —and regularly— to our source of strength, God’s grace will restore us.  When we slow down and allow his mercy to come down and fill us with his joy and peace as we sit in His presence, we will be filled with gratitude and celebration.   As we pause, our souls are filled to overflowing with the settling of our spirit.

It is in this place we can be renewed, creating a wall of protection from the devil’s ongoing showers of defeatism, cruelty, and ‘blowing up’ of our lives.  

Are you ready to find the peace that can only come from the Spirit?  Take— insist— upon time— for silence and solitude and plug in to the Greatest Energizer who ever lived: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. 

Photo Credit: https://unsplash.com/s/photos/hurry 

A Bend In The Road

 

  It’s been an interesting week for me, but in an unusual way.  Normally I am on top of things, getting, ‘it done’!  This week I’ve found myself pondering about ‘just where I am!”  Am I right where I want, or need to be?  Perhaps you’ve been in this place too.

As children we have hopes, dreams and even plans.  But sometimes life sets a new path for us we hadn’t counted on.  Sometimes this happens because of bad choices; other times it’s circumstances over which we have no control.  So we either ‘dive in’ and make the best of it, or let life ‘beat us up’ while we wish things were better.

What can we do about it, when like me, you wonder where the road is leading you?  The other night in prayer my mind had the picture of a huge bend in the road.  I was left with wondering what in the world that meant!  What was God trying to tell me?  So I pondered, prayed and read His Word while I tried to figure it out.

I still don’t have the answer clearly defined, but I see a change coming.  Interestingly someone once said that “if you change nothing, nothing will change.”  So the question becomes ‘what do I change?’

It may be an odd perspective, but I believe all of me belongs to God.  But I wonder if I really give it all to Him, honestly.  I’ve been blessed with staying small all my life, still I make bad choices when it comes to food!  I enjoy snacking, and eating ‘stuff’ that isn’t good for me.  My health isn’t bad, but am I optimizing God’s natural creation when it comes to eating?  Probably not!  A change would be good here!

Every doctor will tell you exercise is a good thing!  It’s even mentioned in the Bible as being a good thing.  So why do I NOT exercise?  Again, I’ve been blessed with being small.  I’m not a strong person (especially my upper body strength!)  Should I consider exercising regularly?  Clearly the practice would benefit my health and probably even improve my sleep!  So yes, I absolutely should exercise!  Notice a trend here?

Spiritually, most everyone could do better.  I read the Bible daily, study, take notes, and pray.  But could I sit and just ‘let God be God?’ in my life?  I’m a fretter!  I’m impatient sometimes and worry about things not going according to plan!  That, too, is going against what is Biblically sound advice.  God says clearly, that HE is in control!  

        I am not supposed to have all the answers and solutions to every problem that crops up!  We live a human life and we can only do so much!  I need to pause and accept that God already knows what’s going on and in HIS time things will work out according to HIS plan!   Another change is necessary!

But there is another area where I seem to struggle—-with my work!  I love to write!  I completely believe God has called me to do this—-and specifically to write for the ‘disability people group.’  This was NOT my plan; but I am honored to be a part of it.  

       Still is this part of the ‘bend in the road’ that entered my prayer the other night?  Is it time to step out of my comfort zone and branch out—-even while staying in the ‘disability arena’?  It scares me silly and would require a different kind of writing, which requires studying on just how to do it—-and then NOT to be afraid of the rejection I may receive when my work is done and ‘out there’!  Is there a change here also, in my future?

All parts of me belong to God!  Sometimes we get too comfortable with where we are and change is hard —- sometimes really hard!  But since each part belongs to God, each part must be given 100% back to him if I want to be blessed by Him.  

Perhaps you see a ‘bend in your road’ as well.  Do you need to make changes that will strengthen your relationship with The Father?  Share what changes you’d like to make in your life over the coming weeks or months.  We can do this together!

God Gives Us What We Need

       

         We are going to celebrate Mother’s Day this next Sunday, and I couldn’t help but think about how much we need others and especially our mothers.  My mom passed away years ago but God sent other strong, God-fearing women to my life to fill the void.  

It’s interesting when you think of all the things moms do.  They are usually the nurturers, and the ones 'little ones' run to when they are afraid, been hurt, and often with questions.  Dads are also a key component of a child, but moms usually hold a very special place in the heart of her children.

What happens, however when the relationship with the mom isn’t as ideal as we like?  Perhaps the relationship is strained to the point of no relationship.  I’ve seen that happen, and it’s a sad situation on both sides.  When this does occur where do we turn when we run into ‘difficult times’? No one is spared difficult times in some form! It is the way of life and living.  

There are a variety of ways we face turmoil.  It may be emotional, spiritual or physical—or all three sometimes --at the same time!  We may even feel overwhelmed with fear because we don’t understand something we are facing. Whatever the circumstance, we can know God is with us.

While we recognize the nurturing we receive from our moms, we can know that God is the greatest nurturer of all.  He understands us, even when we don’t understand Him!  He knows what we need to survive the situation we are in and helps us climb the mountain which looms before us; helps us step over the brambles and rocks that hinder progress, and sends a ray of sunshine so we can see the light at what seems like a long, dark tunnel!  

God gives us what we need, when we are open to our options.  Sometimes it means getting down on our knees and crying out to Him; sharing with him our spent and torn emotions with honest tears flowing down our cheeks.  Other times it means getting into His Word and seeking answers there.  In doing so, we may not find exactly what we had hoped to find, but we are surprised with a sense of peace that comes from communing with the only Living God who actually, totally does know what’s going on and exactly how much we can take!

Sometimes it means putting on Gospel music that will soothe our soul and other times it may mean reaching out to others, whether it be our mom, a surrogate mom or a sister (or brother) in Christ who can shed some light on how to handle things from a completely different perspective.  

I don’t claim to have the answers.  I know I face difficulties too and sometimes want to do nothing more than cry.  And truth be told, God gave us tears which can help wash away the disturbing or unnerving  feelings satan may be feeding us in an effort to gain control over us.  Satan is, after all, the great deceiver and wants nothing more than to use a difficult situation to destroy our relationships with each other and with God, the one he fears the most!

As we celebrate Mother’s Day, consider the relationship you have with your mom and let her know she’s special.  But more than that, consider the relationship you have with The Father, and thank him for his ‘protective equipment’ of prayer and His Word, along with the gift of your mom.

Photo Credit: free pics of mother's day