Running from the Egyptians

Welcome to Monday Manna. The purpose of Monday Manna to get together and get to know Christ more through His Word. After reading my entry, make sure you go to Joanne’s blog An Open Book and read other entries as well. This week’s verse comes from Exodus 14:13-14 as the Israelites saw the Egyptians coming after them.

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

I have verse 14, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still,” posted in my cubicle at work. It is one of those verses that God showed me at a time that I needed it, and one that He redirects me to when I forget.

We all have Egyptians chasing us into the deserts of our lives, perhaps wanting to us to return to the slavery of addiction or sin. For some of us, the Egyptians are our financial situation in a bankrupt economy. For others it may be a rebellious teenager or a medical issue. Whatever your Egyptians are, God tells us to not be afraid.

Easier said than done, right? We may know in our heads that God says “Do not be afraid” or “Do not fear” over 100 times in the Bible, telling us not to fear various things approximately 365 times. Yet that knowledge alone does not take away our fears.

In my own life, I find that my fears may diminish in talking to a friend, but they only really dissipate when I focus on the Promises of God. Two such Promises are given in this passage. “Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today.” And “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

The current desert in my life has consumed the last 6 months, and I am still in the middle of the desert. There have been times when I want to throw in the towel and give up. One morning I cried out to God and told Him I could not do this anymore. Immediately He brought to my mind Philippians 4:13; “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.” As I got to work, God directed my eyes to the index card on my cubicle wall with Exodus 14:14. The theme that God is with me in the hard times was emphasized that day in the “Life Verse” for the Christian radio station I listen to, the daily devotional I get by email, verses sent to me by a friend, and in other verses I saw and heard that day.

Regardless of what Egyptians are in your life, God will help you through the desert. “Do not fear” is possible with the Peace of God that comes from Standing on the Promises.

God Speaks...

I promised this morning to post a rundown of what God has shown me so far this month in my quiet time. I admit there are a few days missing.

On Sunday, January 4, I woke-up stranded in an ice storm in Ackley, IA with my Bible and suitcase in Waverly, IA. My devotion time was prayer and Christian radio during the 3 hour drive back to Minnesota. One song in particular touched my heart on the drive home. Although I have heard the song many times and most likely sang along, I really HEARD the words of the chorus that afternoon. I believe it was the Ray Boltz version of the song "Trust His Heart" by Babbie Mason and Eddie Carswell. I could not find Ray Boltz on YouTube but I did find the song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh65wLVbaww&feature=related The words to the chorus are as follows:

God is too wise to be mistaken.
God is too good to be unkind.
So when you don't understand,
when you don't see His plan,
When you cant trace His hand, trust His heart.

I don't always know what God's plans are in a given situation, but I know that He loves me and will help me through whatever trial comes my way.

Monday, January 5, the verse that stood out to me was Isaiah 28:12 which the English Standard Version quotes as "This is rest; give rest to the weary; this is repose." This same concept came up later in the week as I talked to a young man leaving our company to return to Bible College in Florida. We were discussing generosity and the theology that we will be rewarded for giving. When we give rest, money, love, or any other number of things to other people, we receive blessings from God. Sometimes they are the same thing that we give away -- rest or love -- but not always. If I anonymously give a single mom money to buy Christmas gifts for her kids, I do not expect God to drop money into my bank account as a result. My reward may be as simple as seeing that friend's excitement as she shops for her kids or wraps what she bought for them.

On Tuesday, January 6, God told me that the Splendor He has given me has made my beauty perfect. (Ezekiel 16:14) I do not always feel beautiful, but in God's eyes, I am and it is in His eyes that my worth is determined. On the other hand, I must take heed with the next verse and not trust in my beauty. My trust must remain in God alone.

Wednesday, January 7, I was reminded that God expects us to keep the devotion of our youth. When we first come to know Christ we are like young brides, so in love with Him. In Jeremiah 2:2 He says "I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the desert, through a land not sown." How easy it is to loose that love during the course of a marriage or our walk with God. We need to be intentional about keeping that level of devotion in both our earthly and heavenly relationships.

Thursday, January 8, I read Hebrews 13:6 where it quotes Psalm 118:6,7 "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid, What can man do to me?" I need to hide this verse in my heart to overcome the fears and worries in my life.

Friday through Sunday I did not spend the time I should have with God. Sure, I included Him in my day as always, but I did not intentionally set aside time for Him like I should.

I think I will leave today's lesson for a separate post and try to do a better job of journaling online what God shares with me during my time with Him.

Fear Factor

For Christmas I got two pets, Naomi and Simone. They are leopard geckos and insectivores. I have no problem picking up the lizards, or even the mealworms and wax worms they eat. But their main source of food is crickets and I cannot yet get myself to pick up a cricket. Instead I shake the crickets out of the jar into a Ziploc bag with vitamin or calcium supplement in it to dust them, and then let them crawl out of the bag into the lizards’ cage.

Okay, I know that the crickets are harmless. There is no way the cricket can hurt me. I’ve even eaten them before myself (already dead and covered in chocolate at a Cub Scout “Fear Factor” event), so why am I afraid to touch the crickets with my hands? When one got loose I picked it up before it could get away, so why not just do it when I feed Naomi and Simone?

My fear of touching the crickets is irrational. There is no basis for it; it is not even an overt fear. It simply is. And it is not the only irrational fear I have.

Four years ago, my son caught a garter snake in the yard and my husband told him he could keep it if he took care of it. We figured it would die the first winter. It didn’t and he still has it. I do not like the snake. When he takes the snake out of its cage, I stay in a different room if possible. I know that Bendy does not bite and he could not hurt me if he did. But I still do my best to avoid it. Over the last four years, I have had several nightmares about snakes. Yet, I know that a garter snake is harmless.

There are other fears in my life. Some have a rational and other don’t. Just as my fear of the crickets affects how I feed my geckos, most of these fears govern some area of my life. Most of the time, the effect is more significant than controlling the movement of an insect. My fear of failure prevents me from trying new things. My fear of rejection limits how easily I let someone get to know me.

Yet God tells us not to fear. It was the angels’ words whenever they appear; to Mary, to Joseph, to the shepherds. God told Joshua seven times to “Be strong and courageous” (Deut 31:6, 7, 23; Joshua 1:6, 7, 9, 18) In Romans 8:15, Paul reminds us that we “did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’”

They say in recovery circles that the first step to recovery is admitting the problem. If I admit that my actions are motivated by fear and that God says not to fear because He is with me, this is the first step to not letting my fears govern my actions. Rejection by other people seems less important when I focus on God’s acceptance of me. Remembering that God will not let me fail at doing what is in His Will for my life helps me to step out in faith to do new things. I’ll let you know when I reach my hand in the cricket jar to feed Naomi and Simone.