Day' at the Beach By Ray Haynes
91.5 Radio Station
In North East Georgia
Tell you where I am
today in our Journey
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Americans. celebrate Independence every July 4th. Christians also
·
celebrate Independence, not
from a foreign nation, but from sin and death through the blood of Jesus. Long.........
ago the nation
of Israel celebrated
their independence from slavery at the hands of the Egyptians, It was a very unusual day at the beach w ith difficult choices and life and death decisions.
The two most
difficult things to do in life
·
when we are facing uncertainty are to
"Go forward" and ·Wait" They seem like
opposites; but theY're often different aspects of the same command and sometimes they require the exact same action. Our feelings tell us to do just the opposite and only
our faith can steady us to obey. Such was the case with Moses and
the Israelites at
the Red Sea. "And
the LORD said to Moses, 'Why do you cry to Me'
Tell the children of Israel to
go forward.'" Exodus 14: 15 You may be hemmed in by impossible
. situations that feel like the Red Sea or you may be facing
decisions
.. that don't have a clear answer
requiting you to hear
from God so you can obey Such was the case long ago on the edge of the Red Sea. As the
Israelites were escaping from Egypt, God told
. Moses to turn south, so
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a wadi or canyon
area that is called the Wadi Watir which led directly to the Red Sea. From a strategic point, this
was good if they could cross the sea, but bad if they were being
pursued because the mountains of the Wadi were high and narrow and provided no way of
escape. But what looked like
a trap was part of
God's
- plan, "For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, "They are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed them in: Exodus 14:3.
In your life today, are you standing at the end of a Wadi
looking at a sea too wide to cross? And worse yet, did God lead you there and
now you have no idea what to do? Consider God's wis-dom. The narrow mouth of lhe Wadi
was the perfect size for a pillar of fire to prevent the Egyptian army from pursuing the Israelites. If you're in a tight place,
you're not there alone.
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The beach that God led them to was the only place in the region where they could have gathered and crossed. The path
they used to cross through the sea is about a half mile wide and slopes down
gradually to the bottom of the Red Sea and then up to the Saudi beach. It was perfect
for their need. Try to cross to the left or right of this gentle sloping path and
you will fall down the steep wall of the 3000 foot Eilat Deep and the 3000 foot Aragonese Deep. And the good news is that God made the sea that you are crossing now and He
knows exactly where you need to cross.
So what do we do and how do we do it when faced with moving forward or waiting on God. First. realize that you don't
have a choice. You may not like the reality that you arc facing but it is
very real and the only alternative is manipulating circumstances to bring change. If you do,
you may get your
way now but you will not grow your faith nor will you enter the promises of God found only on the other
side of trusting God. There are chariot wheels still visible on the bottom of the Red Sea that are
lasting testimony to this flawed
strategy.
Hebrews 10:22 encourages us, ... let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance
of faith" You want to hear God and He wants you to hear you, so
take the time to draw near and be
still in His
presence. Ask Him to reveal His will in such tangible ways that you can't
miss it.Having even a mild assurance of His will makes all the difference.
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If you are on a beach in an uncertain season, don't stand staring at the Wadi and
allow fear to consume you, fix your eyes on Jesus, I will lift up my eyes to the hills - from whence comes MY help?" Psalm 121:1. . Don't get distracted and build
sand castles and ignore the war around you; pray, press through the
distractions and temptations and draw near to God. Forgive others for what
they have done and forgive yourself
for what you have done. Pray like Jesus did, •...
do not lead me into temptation, but deliver me
from the evil one" If He
didn't depend on His own strength why would your
strength be sufficient?
And lastly, don't ever believe that God would lead you to where
He can not hold you closely. You are His delight. "He also' brought me out into a
broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me." Psalm 18: 19 You may
have to step out into the unknown or you may have to wait and wait and wait on God to provide what He has promised,
Isaiah 40:31 declares, "But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount
up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint- It's true, there is
a rule built tnto the Kingdom of God that says waiting and only waiting renews strength to such a degree that weariness and fainting arc but a memory.
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