Live your life holding the hand of God, following the cloud by day and the fire by night toward the destiny God has for you!
Quit longing for the “good old days” and forget the past. If the past was great, forget it. If it was bad, forget it. You can’t go home again. The past is gone forever.
Look at Israel. Two million slaves walked out of downtown Cairo singing Don’t Fence Me In. God took them across the Red Sea and drowned Pharaoh and his army. They passed out the tambourines and had a charismatic dance. Some 75,000 to 100,000 women followed Miriam as they began to praise the Lord for the great victory he had given them. But just 72 short hours later, following the cloud by day and the fire by night, they came to Marah, the place of bitter waters. And they ran straight to Pastor Moses and said, “Why did you bring us out her? We should have stayed in Egypt.” How quickly we forget the great blessings of God. In Egypt they were being starved, they were being beaten, an their children were being drowned. Moses leads them out of bondage, with God’s miraculous help, and three days later it’s his fault this happened.
It’s no different today. There’s a teaching in the charismatic community that goes like this: If you’re really living a spiritual life, you’ll never have a problem. That’s heresy. It was God who took them from the Red Sea to the bitter water. How do I know God took them? Because the cloud by day and the fire by night were controlled by God. They had no choice but to follow that cloud, no choice but to stay under that fire by night. Why did God lead them to the bitter waters? God had to let them see what was in them before they could be what God wanted them to be. Many of us want God to do something for us. But God has to do something in us and through us before he can do something for us.
When God brings you to the bitter waters, don’t throw up your hands and say, “God, why did you let this happen me? Just say, “Lord, I do not understand why you’re doing what you’re doing. But I trust that what you’re about to give me is greater than anything I ever had in Egypt. I trust in Egypt. I trust in your sovereign grace and your infinite love and I receive your blessing today, because I know you’re the God that delivers.”
“Why did you bring us out?” they asked Moses. Has God ever taken your wellordered, predictable, businessasusual, boring life and turned it upside down? Did you roll out your lower lip and scream, “Why didn’t I stay in Egypt?” The words will be different, but the thought is the same. “Why did I ever buy this new house?” God leans over the balcony of heaven and says, “Because you got on your face and bawled and squalled for it, Bubba, and I gave it to you. Forget that the foundation is cracked, the roof leaks, the commode won’t flush and the doors won’t shut. You asked for it.” Welcome to the promised land. “Why did I ever get married?” Because you told God that if you could have Leroy, you’d be happy for the rest of your life. Well, you’ve got Leroy. Rejoice, he’s your choice!
The children of Israel did not go back to Egypt because God closed the Red Sea and forbade them to go back. You can’t go home again. Quit longing for the “good old days.” You can’t go back to the past, no matter how bitter or blessed, so forget it and press on to the destiny God has for you!
1 JOHN 3:15
Post a Comment