Skip to main content

Friday... What to do when your back is up against a wall...


Friday... What do we do when our back is up against a wall? Good question and a pertinent question considering that our back has been up against a wall of pandemic, of political unrest, of economic failure. And we thought that it was over with the start of a new year. But the wall it seems is still there. So what do we do?

The Children of Israel in the OT had their backs against a wall. Finally, Pharaoh was letting then leave Egypt to go to their Promised Land but as they got closer to the Red Sea here Pharaoh came with his army. He had changed his mind. He wanted them to come back and be his slaves. Moses their leader had a problem.

Exodus 14:10-12 (MSG) says, "As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw them-Egyptians! Coming at them! They were totally afraid. They cried out in terror to God. They told Moses, 'Weren't the cemeteries large enough in Egypt so that you had to take us out here in the wilderness to die? What have you done to us, taking us out of Egypt? Back in Egypt didn't we tell you this would happen? Didn't we tell you, '"Leave us alone here in Egypt-we're better off as slaves in Egypt than as corpses in the wilderness."'"

Now that is one way to handle a wall, complain, grumble, bring up the past. Oh, I want to get back to normal. This is horrible. Why should I put my trust in God. He doesn't care. It doesn't work?

Exodus 14:13-14 (AMP), "Then Moses said to the people, 'Don't be afraid! Take your stand [be firm and confident and undismayed] and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for those Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you while you [only need to] keep silent and remain calm.'"

He says, to take you stand, be firm, be confident and don't be dismayed. The NLT says, "Don't be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today." And that's what He did.

Verses 21-22 (NLT), "Then Moses raised his hand over the sea, and the Lord opened up a path through the waters with a strong east wind. The wind blew all night, turning the sea bed into dry land. So the people of Israel walked thought the middle of the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on each side." God took the wall and used it to protect them.

Why is it we complain when we have God on our side and in our life. He takes the wall that we are facing and uses it. Trust, Him, follow Him, believe in Him.

By the way the walls that God was using to protect them came down on the Egyptians and they were no more.

Whatever the wall that you are facing, God wants to use it. "Don't be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you." 

Verse 31 (NIV), "And when the Israelites saw the mighty power that God unleashed against the Egyptians, they were filled with awe before him. They put their faith in the Lord and in his servant Moses." Now that is the way to handle a wall. Let God use it! Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thursday... Maybe we need this word today.

Psalm 57:1b (NIRV), "There I will stay until the danger is gone." Thursday... Maybe we need this word today. There are words in life that give us confidence no matter what we are facing. Now we have to believe them in order for them to have an impact. David wrote Psalm 57 while he was in a cave hiding from Saul who wanted to kill him and he says in the last part of verse 1, "There I will stay." It was a safe place and Saul didn't know that he was there. But he doesn't stop there. With confidence he said, "There I will stay until." And until is definitely a word of faith and confidence. "There I will stay until the danger is gone." Do we need that today? Let me give you the whole verse. In verse 1 David says, "Have mercy on me, God. Have mercy on me." And that is a great place to start in times of trouble. Maybe that is what we need to pray today, "Have mercy on me, God. Have mercy on me." It is so great to have someone...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tuesday... We just have trouble listening.

1 Corinthians 13:7 (NLT), "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." Tuesday... We just have trouble listening. Over in Jeremiah 25:4 (NLT) it says, "Again and again the LORD has sent you his servants, the prophets, but you have not listened or even paid attention." And Jeremiah went on to tell what was going to happen. There will be consequences if we do not listen to what God says through his Word. Now the Apostle Paul over in 1 Corinthians was having a problem with some professed Christ followers who were having trouble at listening. And we too can have problems at listening. We can think that being a Christ follower means we do a lot of finger pointing and we give up on people who don't do what we say. We can even do that in our families. But Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:7 (NLT), "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." In verse ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Friday... It is so exciting but wait a minute.

Proverbs 19:2 (NLT), "Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes." Friday... It is so exciting but wait a minute. This time of the year is so exciting. We get our paycheck from work and then we head to the store or Amazon and buy and buy and buy all those presents and then our check is gone Proverbs 19:2 (NLT) says, "Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes." But buying gifts can be so much fun and seeing how happy they are when opening those presents makes us feel so good. But then verse 3 says, "People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then they are angry at the Lord." Now for some that is their life. They get money and they spend it on their wants with no thought of what needs to be paid. An important lesson that we have learned is just because you have money in the bank doesn't mean you must spend it. But our enthusiasm takes over. But the problem is when it is gone and there is no money to pay th...
Post a Comment
Read more