“Why did we stop?”
“I don’t know, I can’t see around the camel.”
“I thought I saw boiling dust coming up from those hills behind us.”
“Oh great! I saw it too. You thinking what I’m thinking?”
“Yes, it’s Pharaoh and his army!”
“He changed his mind, they’re not going to let us go after all.”
“What’s Moses doing?”
“He’s just standing there.”
“What?”
“Word just came from the front. They said the Red Sea has blocked our escape.”
“Oh, great job Moses, just great!!!”
“Hey, don’t be so hard on Moses, he’s been following God.”
“You’re telling me that after all it took to get us out of there, God brought put us here?”
“Well, Moses does seem to have the Lord’s help and…”
“You can see that from here?”
“I know I saw something shiney.”
“This stinks!”
The Shore, the Sea, and the Sword
Recently I read a little book* that looks at God’s People as they encounter the Red Sea. The book, along with a lot of Scripture reading, meditation, and prayer, has caused me to think a lot about my anxieties and doubts. Often I feel as though I’m trapped that the shore (my circumstances) and things aren’t looking too good. I am praying that I learn to better apply Truth to my circumstances.
TRUTH: God is good and I can trust Him; I’m always going to be fine resting in His care.
The application of truth to circumstances is the practice of faith. I’m not talking about faith in faith, that place too many televangelists tend to abide. I’m talking about the miracle of faith which is a gift from God; I’m talking about a faith that trusts God in the circumstances, not on the other side of circumstances.
“For by grace are you saved through faith, that not of yourself, it is a gift from God, lest any man boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
Stressed or Stretched
For me it is realizing that when I am stressed or “stretched,” I’m God’s child standing on the shore. Before me is the sea (the fear of the unknown) and over my shoulder is the sword (whatever I think is threatening me). This is my circumstance. How shall I respond?
There are those times when we have serious concerns about his or her circumstances. That’s normal, and it’s not unspiritual. I am learning a simple prayer in the midst of my own troubles. Rather than pray, “Dear Lord, please deliver me,” I am learning to pray, “Dear Lord, be glorified, I trust You.”
I am learning that the essence of my faith is not ME; the essence of my faith is the object of my faith — the God of my faith. God is good and I can trust Him.
I may not like standing on the shore, and the go-forward (Red Sea) may look daunting. I distress because of a perceived threat (the Swords of the Pharaoh). Fixing my problem is not nearly as important as trusting God in the moment. When I look up and trust, rather than looking around in despair, I can follow the true and better Moses anywhere. Jesus is the True and Better.
Pass it on. The truth is, God is good and we can trust Him — even on the shore, between the sea and the sword.
* The Red Sea Rules by Robert J. Morgan