“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NIV)
This scripture has some rich truth that allows us to exhale as we sit in reflection. God sent His son to live truth so that we can experience “these things” tangibly through the life of Jesus recorded in the Bible, resulting in peace in our hearts. God says, “in this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
We can rest in the truth today that there is no “trouble” we will walk that is unknown to God. There has never been and will never be a challenge we must face without Him. Even when our circumstances don’t change, He doesn’t either. He is with us, walking hand in hand with us.
An illustration I like to think about is the parting of the Red Sea. Moses was obediently following God’s guidance when leading the Israelites fleeing from Egypt. When Moses came upon the Red Sea (let’s use the Red Sea as a problem we face for the purpose of this illustration), God didn’t remove the sea altogether, He parted it for Moses and the Israelites to walk through it.
From our vantage point, our nature is to desire for God to get rid of our challenges, to dissolve the sea into midair. “Let’s just go ahead and get rid of the waters altogether, God” is what I often find my heart feeling when conversing with God about my troubles. But God knows too much about the greater picture to minimize our outcomes to simply removing troubles when He knows He can do so much more than we ask, think, or imagine.
When Moses and the Israelites began to walk through the parted waters...which can you imagine how terrifying that would still be? Yes, the water is parted for you to walk on dry land, but imagine the fear of the towering walls of water on each side of you and the fear that they could come crashing down to drown you at any moment. Imagine getting halfway, when both directions are too far to run for safety in the case of a collapse. The obedience and trust required of Moses and the Israelites displayed their faith in God. I imagine I’d be thinking, “Thank you, Lord, for parting the sea so we can escape but…this isn’t what I had in mind. My fear of not knowing what to do when we reached the unparted waters feels similar to my fear now of walking through them parted.” Not only would my faith increase as I said, “Yes, Lord. Thank you,” but do we remember what happens? The Egyptian army that was in pursuit of Moses and the Israelites followed them into the parted sea to only be drowned when the waters closed back in as described in Exodus 14. This biblical example is a testimony to God’s power to protect His chosen people. But God could not (despite His desire and ability to) show His chosen people His faithfulness in this particular powerful way if they didn’t first trust Him to walk through the parted waters, likely still in fear.
Oftentimes in my life God’s opening of doors is a continued invitation to trust Him. His faithfulness can be marked by perceived miraculous resolution to my troubles, but I’ve found the moments I have to continue to trust Him in the next step to lead to a deeper dependence on, relationship with, and hope found in Him to be particularly more enriching in my faith and life. Where might God be showing you the next step of faith that is part of His plan to show you His power to protect you, His chosen people? Take a moment to ask the Holy Spirit to move in your heart, speaking intimately to you about an area of your life that God desires to show you His power in your trust.
Britt Goff #wheatfulwednesday
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