Rock and a Hard Place - Tuesday March 25, 2014
Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalms 37:3-4 NIV
I've been reading in Exodus lately and was reminded of a great dichotomy: The balance between patiently waiting while at the same time taking action. Sometimes it's hard to know which one to do. Moses and the Israelites were "pinned down" between the Egyptian army bent on destroying them and the Red Sea. They had nowhere to go. So the Hebrews did what I often do-they started whining and grumbling! We are told, "Moses answered the people, 'Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still'" (Exodus 14:13-14 NIV).
What a promise. That takes amazing faith. But when I read the next verse I see another side of faith: Action! It says in verse 15, "Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on'" (NIV). In other words, I think God was saying to Moses (and indirectly to me): "Get off your face and get moving, there is work to do!" Sometimes it's a little too easy to mope about my failures rather than get back to the business of Kingdom building. God hasn't called me to sit and maintain-but to lead the people He's entrusted to me.
What is God saying to you today? Are you anxious? Be still. Are you immobilized because of fear or doubt? Move on. Whatever challenging situation you are in, remember: Trust God, then be ready to take action. Can we trust God when we feel stuck between a rock and a hard place?
Submitted by:
Bill Young
The Rock Church
Sandy, Utah
One-Year Reading Plan:
Deuteronomy 4:1-49
Luke 6:39-7:10
Psalms 68:1-18
Proverbs 11:28
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SCRIPTURE REFERENCB-ES: Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible B) The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are from the Holy, Bible, New International Version, copyright B) 1973, 1978, 1984 by InternaB-tional Bible Society; (NKJV) are from New King James Version B) 1982 by Thomas Nelson; (NLT) are from the New Living Translation, B) 1996, Tyndale House Publishers; (ESV) are from English Standard VersionB., B) 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers; (TM) are from The Message B) 1993 by NavPress Publishers.