“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 (NIV)
I’ve spoken in the last few posts how being a Christ follower is simple, yet hard but also how sometimes, the journey itself can beat a person down when we get our focus off God and onto human circumstances.
From reading about people in the Bible and also hearing many accounts of my friends as well as reading modern day accounts of miracles, it’s safe for me to say that God’s timing is not my timing. Many times circumstances have to get very dire before God steps in and reveals His divine intervention, saving the day. My thoughts on why that occurs are very simple. When God’s glory is revealed, more people choose to become His children and that is His sole purpose in life – that none “…shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NIV)
I’m learning from personal experience, the time between the dire circumstance and the divine intervention isn’t always a fun place to hang around in. That is the time when God allows us the chance to mature. We can either run toward God and trust Him more, or we can run away from God and choose to do it on our own. I want to run toward God. I want to say to Him, “I’m all in. I trust You. I think I heard You say this, so I’m going to stand on that until I hear something different.” That response is very different then throwing up your hands and being a victim or taking the reins and trying to make things work.
For myself, I believe God has been working on this career change since 2011. I believe He spoke that fall with a very specific direction. That started this journey. There have been a few setbacks (due to mistakes on my part) which have resulted in some delays, but when I have heard God speak clearly, my desire has been to obey. First, I have confirmed with God what He said and then I have taken it to my husband and asked for his permission as well, a way to honor the head of our household. God doesn’t cause division between married people. When both people are seeking God’s will, then He will bring peace between the two of them.
I believe that right now I’m in the silent stage…the time when maturity takes place, when God just wants us to trust, in my opinion a place that is simple but oh so hard. It’s hard for someone who is used to having three jobs to stand firm on the promise that I believe God whispered in 2013. It’s hard to know that I know that I know what God said was true when humanly I’m not seeing the promise being fulfilled, when I think the situation is getting to the “dire stage.”
However, I’m not God. I probably don’t know what dire really is. He didn’t ask me to keep checking on the status…He asked me to trust. He promised me in 2013 that if I stood firm, He would fight for me. According to history, God can’t change. If He chose to fight for others in the Bible, and to fight for us in 2013, then He is still willing to fight for us today. I only need to be still. Simple in thought…harder in action. My choice is to trust God…or take control. Listen to lies of the enemy or speak God’s Truth. Only I can choose for myself. Only you can choose for yourself.
© Cheri Swalwell 2015