STOP WHINING; START MOVING
Kendra Intihar
Today’s Scripture: “God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.” James 1:12, NLT
Theme: Once you hear from God and know the direction He wants you to go, start moving and persevere!
SECURITY IN THE OUTCOME
In “Gravity,” this week’s featured movie, Dr. Stone (the character played by Sandra Bullock) faces an impossible challenge. She must not only survive the extreme conditions of a failing space mission, but she also needs to stay clear-headed enough to find her way back home to earth during the most terrifying moments of her life.
I doubt you or I will ever come up against this particular kind of cosmic crisis, but life works this way even in our more personal, close-to-home obstacles. If we haven’t already, we will certainly face challenges that seem impossible to overcome. Thankfully, as believers, we have a hope and confidence in Christ that allows us to walk through the unknown with a sense of security in the outcome. No matter what, God’s got us.
BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE (…OR AN ARMY AND A SEA)
One of my favorite Old Testament moments is when God reminds the Israelites that He is ultimately in control by admonishing them to stop whining and start moving. I’m paraphrasing a little, but here’s the gist of the story, most of which you’ll probably remember:
The Israelites had been enslaved in Egypt for hundreds of years, but God had a better plan for them – a Promised Land where they would be free and whole as His chosen people. Moses had asked Pharaoh, his erstwhile adoptive grandfather, to set the Israelites free, but Pharaoh refused. Of course, that’s when the Lord unleashed the ten plagues on Egypt, but subsequent to each plague, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened again against the people of God.
After the final ‘Plague of the Firstborn,’ Pharaoh relents and lets the people go. He regrets it immediately and sends his men out to recapture the Israelites and bring them back into bondage. In a more dramatic moment, God’s people moaned, asking Moses if Egypt had just run out of graves and that’s why he “rescued” them to let them die in the desert. I like to imagine the look on God’s face at that moment. Perhaps it’s the same one that I give my kids when they tell me they’re about to die of starvation after they’ve just eaten a week’s worth of groceries in one sitting.
Moses consoles them saying, “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). Then the Lord responds to Moses with one of my favorite quotes: “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on” (Exodus 14:15, NIV). And so they did. They bucked up, quit their whining, crossed the Red Sea on dry land, and avoided death by the hand of Pharaoh’s army.
PICK UP YOUR OARS
In the movie we watched this week, Dr. Stone was able to push through the suffocating, desperate conditions she faced. She pushed aside her feelings of fear and self-pity, and she went into survival mode to make it home. The easy path would’ve been accepting defeat, but she chose the more difficult path and didn’t give up. In our own lives, we will face the choice to “give up” from time to time. The Lord will provide us with a boat, but if we sit inside the boat, pitying our condition, and crying out to Him for rescue instead of picking up the oars He placed at our feet, then we’ve failed to see His full provision. Healing and wholeness come when we put aside our fear in favor of trusting in God and His provision in all our circumstances.
Make it Personal: Periods of lament can be good, holy, and biblical, but there is also a time to take our first shaky steps into healing. Why do you think it’s so hard for us to get back up and move forward in our moments of hopelessness or despair? What have you learned from the times in your life when God has asked you to get up and keep moving, even when it was difficult?
Pray: Lord, when we find ourselves stuck between a metaphorical Egyptian army and a Red Sea, give us the wisdom and fortitude to choose the path You’ve promised us. Remind us that we can trust Your provision in our most desperate moments because You are for us. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Read: Psalm 37:24; Isaiah 40:31; Exodus 14:10-31
Weekly Memory Verse: “The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.” Proverbs 24:16, NLT