Hello My Chickadees,
As a child I always heard that ‘Into each life some rain must fall,’ and as I’ve gotten older I’ve learned that most often that rain is a crisis. It’s that unexpected event that comes crashing into your life that suddenly changes your day to night, and all but knocks you off your feet. A crisis can cause you to question everything you once believed, and make you feel like doing what Job’s wife told him to do in the midst of his calamity/crisis “Curse God and die” (Job 2:9).
A crisis often comes without warning and usually involves some kind of loss: a loss of health, the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job, the loss of life the way you thought your life would go; and in all of these losses, you did not have a say, and you are not in control. The challenge for all of us in a crisis is to not judge by the appearance of things, but stand on every word that has proceeded from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). Jesus did not want us to be unaware or without hope. He told us in John 16:33, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Jesus didn’t tell us that we may have trouble, He told us we WILL have trouble; and when that time comes, He told us what to do and He gave us a promise; a promise of victory. Because Christ overcame, and since we are Believers in Christ - that makes us overcomers too. There is one stipulation to these promises though, they usually come with conditions. We have to do something to activate the fulfillment of the promise. In this message I am proposing three things we can do when we’re facing the ‘Red Seas’ in our lives:
1. Remember: Remember who God is and what He’s done for us in the past. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Malachi 3:6); and He’s irrespective of person. He loves all of us equally; and in the words of
St. Augustine, He loves all of us as though there was one of us, and calls each of us His child. Since He calls us His children, that makes Him our Daddy; and that’s exactly what I call Him.
Remember He has promised not to leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Remember He promised that He would not deny us any good thing. In fact, He told us in John 15:17, “If you abide in me” (that means get to know Him, read and study His word, develop a relationship with Him), “and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” That does not mean that God is our personal bellhop or our cosmic genie; it means that when we believe what God says and stand on His word, God will bring us through the crisis in such a way that it is for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28).
We must remember He is faithful even when we’re not. Christ told us He is “The way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him” (John 14:6). In the Bible I always highlight the word ‘will’ and since it is impossible for God to lie (Hebrews 6:18), this means God has to do what He says He will do. While we are holding on to His promises and abiding in His word, we must remember His time is not our time. We must remember to wait on God and not go ahead of Him. Remember He is in this with you, and as long as you have Him in the boat with you, you will get to the other side. That brings me to item number two.
2. Pray, Take Courage, Step Out of Your Boat and Trust God (ok, I know that’s three things in one):
This means, now that you’ve read His word, now take Him at His word. After all, He is His word. He’s the actual Word of God. After you remember who He is, take action.
Pray and stand on what He said, even though you don’t see it. That’s called FAITH, and it is a necessary ingredient in pleasing God. Faith changes your perspective even though your situation hasn’t changed. We activate our faith when we pray; and prayer changes the atmosphere.
Prayer is our opportunity to “Cast our cares upon Him knowing and believing that He cares for us” (1 Peter 5:7). Prayer is having a conversation with your Daddy, who happens to be the Creator and CEO of EVERYTHING. He instructed us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). That brings me to the last point of my message.
3. Stand: When the Israelites were fleeing from the Egyptian army, they had the army behind them, and the Red Sea in front of them. I am sure that fear gripped their hearts, but He told them, “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, which He WILL accomplish for them today” (Exodus 14:13). That God, who is the same God, says the same thing to us. Having done all to stand-STAND.
Stand - believing He will see you through.
Stand - knowing that even though you don’t know what He’s going to do, you know what He’s able to do; and
Stand - trusting that He is working it out for your good and His glory.
I read a saying that I hope you will appreciate as much as I did when I read it. “Not all storms come to disrupt your life, some come to clear your path.”
When the storms of life are raging in our lives, we have an anchor who is Christ; and He specializes in navigating us through the storms He already knew were coming. During our crisis, Christ says come and rest in Me. I will see you T-H-R-O-U-G-H.
Peace and Blessings,
Gail
PS. “Good Morning My Chickadees: Morning Messages From Mom” is a treasure trove of wisdom messages rooted in Scripture and inspired by the Holy Spirit, to assist us in training our children and ourselves in the way we should go. Check out my website or Amazon to get your copy. Spread the word.