10 When the Israelites saw Pharaoh and his army coming toward them, they were very frightened and cried to the Lord for help. 11 They said to Moses, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Did you bring us out here in the desert to die? We could have died peacefully in Egypt; there were plenty of graves in Egypt. 12 We told you this would happen! In Egypt we said, ‘Please don’t bother us. Let us stay and serve the Egyptians.’ It would have been better for us to stay and be slaves than to come out here and die in the desert.”
13 But Moses answered, “Don’t be afraid! Don’t run away! Stand where you are and watch the Lord save you today. You will never see these Egyptians again. 14 You will not have to do anything but stay calm. The Lord will do the fighting for you.”
15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you still crying to me? Tell the Israelites to start moving. Exodus 14:10-15
You got to love this story. Moses had led the children of Israel out of Egypt in a miraculous display of strength. They were camping beside the Red Sea and low and behold they saw the Egyptian army following them. They froze in fear. Moses made a promise of astounding faith, "Stand where you are and watch the Lord save you." and then God said…
"Why are you still standing around?"
"Get moving."
There are times when we should wait and there are times when we should be moving. This blog is not about the times when we should be waiting. This is about the times when we should be moving.
I recently rode a zip line for the first time. I was not afraid when I was stepping into the harness and putting on the protective helmet. I did not mind climbing the stairway up to the top to be buckled in for the jump. . However, I knew that the jump off the platform was going to be the scary part.
There are a lot of times when God asks me to step out in faith. If I look at the times when I obey, I observe one thing. I am 100% successful if I step out immediately instead of having long, drawn out arguments in my mind deciding if I should obey. Sometimes I do argue with the Lord and end up being obedient…but it is less likely to occur than when I am instantly obedient. A couple of examples come to mind. I was driving to work one morning and saw an elderly woman struggling to keep her umbrella open in the pouring rain. I felt so strongly that God asked me to give her a ride. It went against all logic for me to obey because I was afraid of not knowing where to take her(I am terrible with directions) and I was worried I may not get to work on time. But I was instantly obedient. The experience is a wonderful memory of helping a woman who cleaned for Old Navy and desperately needed a ride to work. I was so thankful I did not miss that opportunity to serve an angel in disguise.
However, last week almost the same exact situation came up. I had prayed that morning that God would provide me an opportunity to serve someone today. I was driving home and saw a very physically challenged man, struggling to cross the street in the pouring rain. I felt that same tug in my heart to stop and give him a ride to his destination. But instead of immediate obedience as before, I thought of all the reasons that I should not stop. Of course, I talked myself out of it.
Back to the zip line…I came to the top of the stairs and was tightly hooked in to the harness. The young man explained that he would count to three and we would jump. If we did not jump with in 1 minute, then we would have to climb back down so others could have a turn. I knew that it was an act of faith. Would I trust the harnesses and the ropes to bring me to the ground a million(okay maybe a slight exaggeration) feet below? I knew it would depend on if I acted instantly, without hesitation. On the count of three, I jumped!!! I would have missed the thrill of a zip line if I had stopped to examine all the ways that it was not a good idea. I hope the next time that God whispers a good idea in my ear, I move without hesitation.
