Face to Face With Fear
It is easy when we face stress and difficult times to freeze up and complain. This is exactly how the Israelites acted when their journey out of Egypt got tough. They saw Pharaoh drawing near with his troops; the sea blocked their only escape. And Moses seemed to have a great answer, “Stand firm. You will see deliverance today. The LORD will fight for you, and you will have only to keep still” (Exodus 14:13-14).
Moses is the epitome of a non-anxious presence, and his answer was textbook until that last phrase.
God breaks up the Moses monologue with a startling exhortation, “Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward. But you lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it.”
So given this impossible situation, God is not going to bring in a cavalry and mop up the Egyptians. Moses will have to lead the people through their fears to trust in dry ground.
What circumstances are you facing that make you throw up your hands and say, “I don’t know what to do!” Does it look like a total “lose-lose” situation. Are you expecting God to just swoop in and make everything clear?
If you are – keep in mind that in one of the greatest God-driven deliverance stories of all time, Moses still had to make a choice and do something. It is my experience that God usually joins us and “makes a way where there seems to be no way” only when we step forward and act decisively.
Don’t be a victim of your circumstances. Actively seek to work with God and live for Him today.
Thank you Jason for this stirring reminder to have the spiritual guts to exercise or faith in our Father. It is an awesome thing that God Himself works with us as we work…opening doors, windows, and removing entire walls that are opposed to us. And His sole motive to be involved with us is His matchless love for us!