(1) When all you see in front of you is Red Sea...remember that God knows how He will get you to the other side. This week felt like a Red Sea week. All I could see was red tape, job and visa difficulties. I was hit with a spirit of discouragement, and it just felt too hard. But then I realised that the Israelites would have felt that too. They would have walked up to this HUGE Red Sea. They probably couldn't see to the other side. And I am sure they had no idea how on earth they were supposed to get to the other side. Its easy for us nowadays to think "oh yeah, God parted it and they walked through". But when you stop and think about it...I am not so sure I would have wanted to step in and give it a try. Even after it initially parted, I probably would still have wondered what would have happened if I had gotten halfway and the plan changed?! Sometimes we go through days/weeks/seasons when you can't see the other side - all you can see is the impossible situation. Right now, you might not know what miracle God will use to get you through the craziness and over to the other side. But He does. In Romans 4 it says "If you see that the job is too big for you, that its something only God can do, and you trust Him to do it - you could never do it for yourself no matter how hard and long you worked - well, that trusting-him-to-do-it is what gets you right with God, by God. Sheer gift" (v5: Message bible). God wants us to trust Him with the impossible. Because for Him...NOTHING is impossible. He can do all things, if we just have faith. Maybe the way it happens won't be as we expect it. Maybe the Israelites presumed God was going to bring a huge bridge, flown in by a ginormous helicopter. But God did something more than their minds could comprehend. Even bigger and better...to show How great and powerful He is. Sometimes God wants to use our impossible situations as a testimony of His greatness. So...don't give up. Don't get discouraged. Pray the prayer I now pray daily: "Lord, do the impossible in my life".
(2) When its God's plan...nothing you can do will stuff it up. So...this week I realised I made some pretty dumb decisions. I left somethings to the last minute that I should have done earlier. I said some dumb things to people without thinking. But..I am human. And humans do dumb things. Abraham did. He told a very powerful man that his wife was his sister! Not only once...but TWICE! And what about Aaron. Moses goes up on the mountain to talk to God, and what does Aaron do....He builds a golden cow to worship! Talk about dumb moves. But God had a plan and purpose for their lives bigger than they were. It again says in Romans 4 "If Abraham, by what he did for God, got God to approve him, he could certainly have taken credit for it. But the story we are given is a God-story, not an Abraham-story". The story of Abraham actually has nothing to do with Abraham. Its all about God simply using a common man, who makes dumb decisions sometimes, to do great things. God has a plan for me, and a plan for you. And yeah, sometimes we might stuff up. Sometimes we might delay things. Sometimes we take the long way to get there. But when it's Gods plan...it will prevail. God slowly brings you back on track and right back into his plan. Of course that doesn't mean we can throw wisdom out the window and do whatever we want...but it does mean that our lives are bigger than ourselves. So forgive yourself when you stuff up. Repent. Give it to God. And allow him to bring you back on the path to His plan for your life.
(3) Don't be like the Israelites and be quick to forget all the miracles God has done in your life. Oh, this is the big one I am having to focus on during my crazy faith season. On the days when I look at my circumstances, panic, throw my hands in the air and cry "why did you bring me here God"...I am quick to realise that that's what the Israelites did too. As humans, we are so quick to forget the amazing things God has done in our lives. 9 months ago God did HUGE miracles to open doors and allow me to start this crazy journey. And now that things are again entering into a scary season...I need to keep remembering those miracles. God is the same God as 9 months ago...and the same God as 2000 years ago. He parted the Red Sea. Healed people from impossible sickness. Brought Jesus and many others back to life. Supernatural, crazy, difficult to fathom miracles. And He can do that for us today. Don't be quick to panic and focus on our circumstances. Keep your focus upward. He has done great miracle before...He WILL do them again.
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