By Barbara Phinney (The Nanny Solution LIH July 2016)
My church is doing a series on crises, based on the book, The Red Sea Rules, a small, easy to read book that I highly recommend.
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(Here is the Apple link. https://itunes.apple.com/ca/book/the-red-sea-rules/id607352974?mt=11 It's cheaper here.)
You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions, stand firm, and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, oh Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow and the Lord will be with you.
So as I unpacked this verse, ground it up, digested it and tasted it in every way short of eating the paper, I discovered something about it. Now, I'm hardly a teacher, or a commentator, or a Biblical Scholar, but I did notice something about it.
There are orders in this verse. Orders that come with encouragement. This verse follows a faithful king's cry for help, (King Jehoshaphat) and a nation of people willing to support their king. And that sometimes we just need to do nothing but wait in faithfulness.
We need to wait with a certainty - You're not going to fight this battle.
We need to wait with an order - Take up your positions. (go do what you are already trained to do)
We need to wait with a reminder - Don't be afraid or discouraged.
We need to wait with a plan - Tomorrow, face your enemy, and I, the Lord, will be with you.
Sometimes, the thing that God wants us to do is nothing. And in our busy, results-laden world, that's hard to do. We are all expected to perform, even at home raising children. The house is expected to be cleaned, the supper cooked, the chores done, but we all know the children take priority, and at the end of the day, sometimes there is nothing to show for that work.
But God says, be still and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10) That's an extension of King Jehoshaphat's story above. It must have been important for God to repeat it many times in the Bible.
So be still. Wait. God has your back. Don't be scared because you're not alone.
Posts
Amen. I needed this encouragement today. Thank you, Barbara.
ReplyDeleteThe worst part of waiting for me is to not take matters into my own hands. Thanks so much for the reminder that God is in control and we need to be still and know that He is God and He knows exactly how to fix our problems.
ReplyDeleteIt's really hard not to take the stuff back! I know. I hand it over and then snatch it back. Honestly, You think I'd have learned that by now. But that's the great thing about our Lord. He's the Lord of second chances.
ReplyDeleteBarbara,
Thank you so much for commenting!
Often I have to remind myself that my job is to pray. God does the work. :)
ReplyDeleteLove the title of your study book, Barb! Thanks for sharing.
Barb, thanks for the great reminders of how God works in our lives.
ReplyDeleteI also needed these reminders today - - thank you!
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Patti Jo
Thank you all for stopping by. We all need reminders, don't we, and we need to know that it's okay to wait upon the Lord sometimes. I really recommend this book. It's excellent and so easy to read. The study group that goes with it is called Crisis 101.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing. I'm often looking for books to do with Ladies Bible Class. I'll check this one out.
ReplyDeleteVery encouraging! Thanks for sharing. :)
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