TRUST & SEE the LORD’S MIGHT!
In the Virginia Beach area, there are several tunnels that go beneath the Chesapeake Bay as one piece of land is connected to another. Oftentimes, when we are driving on a roadway in that part of the country (a journey we were doing just a few months ago), then we will drive onto a bridge with signage that warns us of the upcoming tunnel. As we drive toward the bridge & the roadway prepares to descend into the underwater tunnel, the signage along the side of the road will pronounce the truth: “Last Exit Before the Upcoming Tunnel.” It is in that split-moment, a person must make a decision. Yes, he must decide!
He must either drive on toward the tunnel and cross the Chesapeake Bay to the other side.
OR
He must exit and remain on the side of the bay where he currently resides.
It is a decision.
It is a choice.
The decision cannot be made and then reversed.
Once made, the decision must be followed through because there are no opportunities to make U-turns inside the underwater tunnel.
Corrie Ten Boon, a survivor of the Holocaust once said similar words about a train tunnel and the occupants riding within the train cars: “When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.”
I wonder: Are we trusting the ONE who engineered and created the world?!
I wonder: Are we trusting the ONE who created us and placed us inside our mother’s womb?!
I wonder: Are we thinking about jumping when we really should TRUST?!
I wonder: Are we trying to make a U-turn when we really need to drive on toward our destination?!
I wonder: Are we facing struggles today? & if so, do the struggles seem LARGER than our own strength?
We are so human. We want the plan for the next five years, for the next decade, for even the end of this week in which we are walking—when what we should really desire is the simple action of listening to God when He tells us, “Child, take my hand, and I will walk you through, so that you are able to cross to the other side.”
Now, imagine you are on a flat plateau in Egypt and 600 chariots filled with Egyptian soldiers are thundering after you.
Imagine Pharaoh, with a heart full of rage and a heart hardened by the LORD HIMSELF, chasing after you because you had the audacity to do what Pharaoh himself said: LEAVE.
Do we sometimes doubt that all things are possible with God?
Do we sometimes grumble and complain like the Israelites did when they spoke these words to Moses?
“Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt saying, ‘Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
(Exodus 14: 12 NASB)
Over & Over & Over within God’s Word, we are given Scripture passages revealing the strength of the LORD we serve. That is right. We only need to open our Bible and to read, in order to see how GOD moved in people’s lives, to be reminded, and to be encouraged that GOD will remain faithful to His word!
“But Moses said to the people, ‘Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will perform for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again, ever.
(Exodus 14: 13-14 NASB)
The LORD will fight for you, while you keep silent.”
Faith is simply believing that God will do what He said!
Trusting the LORD is a firmer foundation than trusting in ourselves or in mankind.
Walking with our hand firmly held by our Savior & Lord is far easier than trying to turn back or trying to jump from a speeding train into a world of hurt and despair.
Riding through life with the King of Kings means we TRUST GOD COMPLETELY—–what HE BRINGS US TO, HE WILL SEE US THROUGH!
“So the sons of Israel went through the midst of the sea on the dry land, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right and on their left.
(Exodus 14: 22-25 NASB)
Then the Egyptians took up the pursuit, and all Pharoah’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen went in after them into the midst of the sea.
But at the morning watch, the LORD looked down on the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and brought the army of the Egyptians into confusion.
HE caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and HE made them drive with difficulty [GOD Did]; so the Egyptians each said, ‘Let me flee from Israel, for the LORD is fighting for them against the Egyptians.’”
Walking with God does not mean we will never be afraid. Corrie Ten Boom walked with God as she was held captive inside a Concentration Camp during the Holocaust.
Trusting God does not mean we will never experience doubt. When God parted the Red Sea, the Israelites stepped onto that dry bed of the Red Sea and then walked across the bottom of the sea. They looked at a wall of water on their right and the wall of water on their left; yet they walked on toward the other side.
Believing God will do what he says takes faith because as the dark of the night turned into the morning’s light, God allowed the Israelites to SEE with CLARITY what only HE COULD DO!
“SHALOM” by Laura Hackett Park is a melody we need to pause to hear.
“Shalom. Shalom, the LORD is in your midst.”
Peace. Tranquility. Inward Completeness & Wholeness.
“Shalom. Shalom, the LORD will fight for you.”
“The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen. Pharoah’s entire army that had gone into the sea after them; not even one of them remained. . . .
(Exodus 14: 28 & 30-15:1a NASB)
So the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.
When Israel saw the great power which the LORD had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD in His servant Moses.
Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the LORD, . . .”
Maybe today—We are standing on the side of the sea, and all we see is the fear we feel deep inside our heart. TRUST the Engineer, the Creator & Do Not Walk in Fear.
Maybe today—We have stepped onto the dry land and have begun walking with the LORD, but we are glancing over our shoulder to where we once were, and we are full of doubt. TRUST the LORD’S Might & Do Not Place Trust in Ourselves or in Others.
Maybe today—We are walking through our “something,” (whatever it might be) & we sense how our hand is held tightly by our Lord, Savior, Redeemer, and King! TRUST the LORD’S Might!
Maybe today—We have been given a challenging situation JUST BECAUSE the LORD WANTS to REVEAL HIS POWER & MIGHT through our Faith & Trust in HIM!
Maybe today—We have crossed over to the other side; we have reached the other side of the tunnel; we have stepped firmly onto the other bank—And as we look back at where we have come from, what God has brought us through, & we can only raise our hands in praise as we sing to our LORD. That’s when we realize that we have focused on God rather than our situation & that is when our faith grows!
In life, we are always given choices.
May we TRUST & SEE the LORD’S MIGHT!