There’s a wall in front of you. Behind you is a past you are running
from. Beyond the wall there awaits the
promise of a new life. But you’re not
moving because there is this “wall.” You
feel trapped and it seems like there is no way out. But, can I share something with you; this is
just the sort of situation in which God does some of his finest work.
Don’t believe me, ask the Israelites. Behind them was a life of back-breaking work and slavery. Ahead of them was a life in the land of Promise. Behind them was the fierce army of a fanatical Pharaoh coming towards them. Ahead of them was a wall. Their wall was a river overflowing its banks and crossing it was impossible, or at least they thought it was.
Your “wall” may be a fear of failure. Or maybe it’s a lack of confidence that has grinded your progress to a halt. Or maybe you have made so many mistakes that you think life will never turn around for you. Or it could be that you have so many insurmountable problems that you don’t know which one to tackle first.
So you have stopped and feel stuck and you aren’t sure if there is a way over, around, or under this imposing impediment.
Here is where most people panic. Anxiety courses its way through the body, atrophies the movement muscles, and rigor mortis overtakes their resolve. Eyes which once had clear focus now only focus on the wall just inches away.
Of course we can always find someone else to blame. The Israelites blamed Moses. You can blame your spouse, or your boss, or your friends and yes, some people blame Jesus. Blame all you want but the wall remains.
While the Israelites were body punching Moses, he opted to look elsewhere. Moses could have looked at the enemy’s army. He could have looked at the ungrateful people he led. He could have looked at the wall of water spread out before him, sat down, and given up.
Instead he looked to God. And God opened an unlikely route through the wall of water. Safely on the other side, the very wall that had halted their steps became the source of their deliverance.
The very name of the book where we find this story serves as a reminder when we face our “walls.” “Exodus” is a compound Greek word meaning “the way out.” And in case you might have missed it, the way out was not a better job, a different spouse, or a victim mentality.
No, the way out is God. Next time you find yourself up against a wall try looking to him.
Don’t believe me, ask the Israelites. Behind them was a life of back-breaking work and slavery. Ahead of them was a life in the land of Promise. Behind them was the fierce army of a fanatical Pharaoh coming towards them. Ahead of them was a wall. Their wall was a river overflowing its banks and crossing it was impossible, or at least they thought it was.
Your “wall” may be a fear of failure. Or maybe it’s a lack of confidence that has grinded your progress to a halt. Or maybe you have made so many mistakes that you think life will never turn around for you. Or it could be that you have so many insurmountable problems that you don’t know which one to tackle first.
So you have stopped and feel stuck and you aren’t sure if there is a way over, around, or under this imposing impediment.
Here is where most people panic. Anxiety courses its way through the body, atrophies the movement muscles, and rigor mortis overtakes their resolve. Eyes which once had clear focus now only focus on the wall just inches away.
Of course we can always find someone else to blame. The Israelites blamed Moses. You can blame your spouse, or your boss, or your friends and yes, some people blame Jesus. Blame all you want but the wall remains.
While the Israelites were body punching Moses, he opted to look elsewhere. Moses could have looked at the enemy’s army. He could have looked at the ungrateful people he led. He could have looked at the wall of water spread out before him, sat down, and given up.
Instead he looked to God. And God opened an unlikely route through the wall of water. Safely on the other side, the very wall that had halted their steps became the source of their deliverance.
The very name of the book where we find this story serves as a reminder when we face our “walls.” “Exodus” is a compound Greek word meaning “the way out.” And in case you might have missed it, the way out was not a better job, a different spouse, or a victim mentality.
No, the way out is God. Next time you find yourself up against a wall try looking to him.
Thanks for the reminder that God is always the way out!
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