What do you do when you are halfway there? I mean when you’ve
been in the midst of the struggle for a while but you still don’t see an end in
sight? If you look back, you can see how far you have travelled but when you
look ahead, there seems to be no opening. You’re in the middle of the valley.
You find yourself looking around saying, “What now?” Last night, in Bible
Study, my pastor referenced Philippians 3:14 where Paul says “I press toward
the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (KJV)
But what happens when the press gets real. Then what? When I asked this
question of God just now, the answer came quickly. You stand!
I don’t think it’s any secret that in life, you will have
struggles. Sometimes, they are meant to build your faith and bring forth your
purpose but when you are in the midst of it, you don’t always want to hear
someone say that it’s all for your good. Especially when you’re thinking ‘my
good would be for it to be over.’ Trust me; I’ve said those words recently. The
Lord took me this morning to Exodus 14 to the Israelites journey out of Egypt. Let
me set the scene for you. Moses has just led the people out of Egypt through
the wilderness towards the Red Sea. They have been following the pillar of
cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. God made the decision to lead the
people through the wilderness rather than through Philistine territory because
He knew that if they faced war at that time, they would turn back to Egypt. So
we can see that God has a plan and a purpose already. Could it be that your
wilderness is a way around something even more difficult? But let’s keep going…
God continues to unfold His plan for the people of Israel. “God
spoke to Moses: “Tell the Israelites to turn around and make camp at Pi
Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. Camp on the shore of the sea opposite
Baal Zephon. Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are lost; they’re confused.
The wilderness has closed in on them.’ Then I’ll make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn
again and he’ll chase after them. And I’ll use Pharaoh and his army to put my
Glory on display. Then the Egyptians will realize that I am God. And that’s
what happened.” (Ex. 14:1-4 MSG) Pharaoh falls right into the plan and goes
after the Israelites. When the Israelites saw the Egyptians coming they lost
it. They were caught between a rock and a hard place…Egyptians behind them and
the Red Sea in front of them. Can you see yourself in the Israelites? You have
stepped out on faith, you are serving in the Kingdom, you are being obedient
yet your wilderness seems never ending. Then you get to a place where you have
been traveling through this season for a while trying to keep your eyes on God
and you think you are making progress. But then you look back and see all the
hard things that you walked away from. You see the scary trials and attacks
right on your heels and when you look ahead, all you see is impossibility. What
do you do?
The people of Israel react in anger and terror and ask Moses,
“Weren’t the cemeteries large enough in Egypt so that you had to take us out
here in the wilderness to die? What have you done to us, taking us out of
Egypt? Back in Egypt didn’t we tell you this would happen? Didn’t we tell you,
‘Leave us alone here in Egypt—we’re better off as slaves in Egypt than as corpses
in the wilderness.’” (Ex. 14:11-12
MSG) Woooooo…are the Israelites speaking your language? Maybe you don’t want to
admit that you’ve had similar thoughts. “God, I don’t know what you think I’m
going to get out of this but I don’t want it. It’s too hard. I would have
rather stayed where I was and had money. I would have rather stayed with my old
friends and had fun. This press is too hard.” Okay, maybe you haven’t had a
flesh moment/thought but I have. I can relate but then doesn’t God always speak
a Word? You see, it’s often when you’re in the middle of your valley that God
really speaks. That He really moves. The problem we often face however is
getting past our fear and pushing forward to what’s ahead. Moses says to the
people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and watch God do his work of salvation
for you today. Take a good look at the Egyptians today for you’re never going
to see them again. God will fight the battle for you.
And you? You keep your mouths shut!” (Ex. 14:13-14 MSG) When you are in the
middle of your valley experience, you have to stand and let God do the work. It
is so easy to mess yourself up with your mouth and your opinion. But Moses is
telling the Israelites that they won’t ever see this particular enemy again.
Watch how God handles them when you let Him fight and stop talking. This is how
we get to the Red Sea. You know the story from here…God separates the Egyptians
and Israelites overnight, and splits the Red Sea. The Israelites make it safely
through on dry ground and when the Egyptians run after them, the Lord releases
the water and they all drown. He brought them out.
You might have been in this season for a long time and the
struggle has gotten really hard. Things aren’t working the way they usually do
for you. Money is not flowing and people are not doing what you want them to do.
You are standing between the Egyptians and the Red Sea. Both ways look
impossible but I challenge you today to stand firm and let God do the battle.
Don’t be knocked over by the press, instead let the press push you towards the
banks of the Red Sea. Once you get there with no power of your own, God is
waiting to split the water and allow you to pass through on dry ground. Just
stand, saint! God is shrouding the enemy in fog and putting distance between
you. He is putting people in place to walk you through to victory. There has
always been a plan and a purpose, the key is standing firm long enough to see
the results.
Be encouraged, my friend! “Some trust in chariots and
some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought
to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.” (Ps. 20:7-8 NIV)
AMEN…
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