Monday Morning Memo: A Red Sea Experience

Last week I shared with you that there are times when I become irritated and overwhelmed, but if I’m honest, I may feel that way because I have neglected to spend uninterrupted time with Christ.  You see, when I fail to keep my focus on Him…small things become huge, and I quickly forget the size of my God and just how powerful He really is.  I forget the truth from Chuck Swindoll when he wrote: “When God is involved, anything can happen.  The One who directed that stone in between Goliath’s eyes and split the Red Sea down the middle and leveled that wall around Jericho and brought His Son out of the tomb, takes a delight in mixing up the odds as He alters the obvious and bypasses the inevitable.”

 

WOW.  I continue to work on wrapping my head around these statements.  I know they are true; but to really comprehend them and believe them in my heart is sometimes another story.  If I really believe these words, then why are there still times I worry and fret over things in my life?  The God who parted the Red Sea is MY God.  The God who directed David to use a slingshot to kill a giant is MY God.  The God who caused a wall to crumble just by telling people to march around it, is MY God.  The God who allowed His Son to be crucified on a cross for my sins and then raised Him from the dead to give me eternal life with Him, is MY God!  But let my current situation get stressful and complicated, and I can immediately start worrying that MY God can’t handle things.  What a waste of time and energy!

 

I don’t know how you are feeling these days, but I found the past year of my life to be a “Red Sea” experience.  Tearing both of my Achilles tendons at the same time a year ago last August…began many months of pain and frustration.  There have been days of feeling like I am on the shore…looking over the deep sea…and wondering how in the world I would ever get to the other side.  Many times, I have had to remind myself that no matter what is thrown at me, MY God is bigger.  MY God isn't taken by surprise.  MY God isn't wringing His hands with worry…wondering how in the world I will get across.  He is right beside me and is able to make a way for me through the “sea” no matter what is in my path.  

 

Is there a “giant” in your path that has you scared and running the other way?  Are you coming up against a brick wall on your journey and you just can’t see a way around it?  Do you feel like everywhere you turn you are being “crucified” and treated unfairly?  Is God asking you to step way out of your comfort zone and you are shaking in your boots?  Or, are you on the edge of the shore and you have no idea how you will get to the other side?  Look UP!  Put your trust in the God who specializes in the impossible!  He’s not wringing His hands…He’s not wiping sweat off His brow, wondering how in the world you are going to make it through…and He’s surely not giving up on you.  

 

Just remember that whatever your obstacle is, OUR God is bigger and stronger and more powerful.  Isaiah 41:10 reminds us, “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.  Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you.  I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”  Amen!