“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth so are My ways higher than your way and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
~ Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV
I absolutely love this scripture! I will never be able to figure out God’s ways or the mystery or the wonder of Him but that is what is so amazing! It’s His overwhelming, unconditional, and everlasting love and the mystery and the wonder of Him that draws me to Him more and more! The more He works in my life and shows me more of who He is, the more I want to know Him and make Him known!
A few weeks ago, I was faced with a decision. One that could have potentially impacted others. I really didn’t know what to do because (I have to admit) I was angry over the situation I was being faced with so, of course, I had my own agenda and a plan for what I expected to happen so there was a battle going on in my mind for control. I knew what my flesh wanted to do. My flesh wanted to fix the issue now but then I was quietly reminded of some key points from the sermon series that went on to jog my memory of a few times in the past when I’d made angry and/or impulsive decisions and doing what I thought was best. Those memories didn’t remind me of good times. So, first of all, I asked God to forgive me then decided to talk to Him about it. It didn’t take Him long to share His thoughts with me. He immediately brought a scripture to my mind and it couldn’t have been more on point.
Could He have been more clear?! The reference for this verse is found in Exodus 14. The children of Israel had just been set free from 430 years of bondage in Egypt. They had traveled across the desert towards God’s promised land and between them and their promise stood the Red Sea. Added to the stress as they tried to figure out how to cross the massive body of water, Pharaoh and his Army were in hot pursuit of them. They were surrounded. So what did they do? Did they drop to their knees in prayer and call out to their God, who had just set them free from years of bondage? They did not! Instead, they whined and complained to Moses. (Absolutely no judgment here. I am just like them. I’m guilty of whining and complaining when things don’t go my way sometimes. Probably in much the same way I sounded to God when I started whining through my anger.) So what did Moses tell them?
“Fear not…stand firm and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you…you need only to be silent.”
~ Exodus 14:13-14 ESV
Has God ever told you to be silent?! I am so thankful for the directness of this passage and how it leapt off the page in my bible and slapped me in the face! I had absolutely no doubt as to what God wanted me to do. He wanted to me to stop whining and be silent. He knows my anxious, controlling, planning self and He needed to be clear. He’s been here with me a few times in my life and He knows how to get my attention. So, in obedience, I chose to remain silent and take my agenda off the table. No more trying to figure things out on my own. No more expectations of what I thought God should do. You’d think after all the amazing things I’ve seen Him do over the past few years, that I’d have learned by now that He is the One who started this work in me and He will be faithful to complete it (Philippians 1:6). But I’m still human and choose my own way sometimes. So, from that point on, I purposed in my heart to wait on Him and be silent. Which was then followed by such an amazing peace and I knew that whatever happened, He was there, and I was okay.
Then I picked up my journal and drew out what I felt the Spirit was speaking into my heart.
This poor excuse for a drawing is the culmination of several sermons. Essentially, this depicts me
walking into unknown territory with the situations in my life surrounding me on either side. To my right, I have things that come with just living life and, regrettably, some are of my own making. These are the slippery/precarious ones. And to my left, are the events from my past. These are the thorny/painful ones. I am surrounded but God is with me in the middle of it all. I am not an artist by ant stretch but somehow, drawing out the words that were flooding my mind helped me to see the situation from a different perspective. It wasn’t long after this that the Spirit reminded me of what I’d written in the margin of my Bible during the sermon the week before.
Like me, I’m sure there have been times you’ve had expectations of how you thought your life or a situation should work out. And, like me, I’m sure there have been times that disappointment ensued and clouded your view of that situation. It happens. We’re disappointed because we had a plan with certain expectations and God’s plan didn’t match up with ours.
I have always been a planner and it doesn’t matter what needs to be planned. Whether it’s my monthly budget or housework or a shopping list, there is a plan for how to handle it. Well, the situation that suddenly presented itself didn’t come with a plan but I was quick to start making one, complete with my own set of expectations. It was then that God told me to be silent. Only God knows the plan He has for me. Only God knows what is ahead on this journey into unknown territory. And only God knows what I need. Perhaps I have too much baggage to carry into my promised land. Perhaps He wants me to learn to live with less so He can become more. Perhaps He wants to remove some things from my past that still hold real estate in my heart. Perhaps He wants me to know where my provision comes from and not from what I have been depending on to sustain me.
“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
~ Ephesians 3:20&21 ESV
God is able to do far more than we could ever ask or imagine. He works within us, in the deepest part of our heart. He knows just where to touch my heart to assure me that He is there. Right there with me, in the middle.
March and April are considered tornado months in Alabama. A few weeks ago, we were under a tornado watch which quickly turned into a warning. My co-workers and I were sent home early in order to prepare for the bad weather and get into a shelter, if need be. The meteorologists reported there were tornados in our area, all around us. We were surrounded. I made it home safely then checked in with my kids to make sure they were all safe. During times like this, I don’t keep myself glued to the weather channel to track the storms. I trust that God is in control of the weather but should the sky start to turn green or I hear a noise that sounds like a freight train, I’ll head for the inner most room in my house but other than that, I rest in the knowledge that I am in His hands. Well, on this occasion, I decided to check the radar in my area to see if we were in immediate danger. This screen shot is what I saw. I was in the white area. Right in the middle of the storm.
Do you see what is surrounding the white area? A lot of rain with tornadic activity on each side!! Horrible tornadoes and strong winds surrounded me yet I was safe in the middle with Jesus! When I saw this picture on my phone, it brought tears to my eyes because I knew it was just one more affirmation that God has me in the palm of His hand and that He is walking with me right in the middle of all the situations that surround me!
Living life in this fallen world is always going to involve problems. We are going to have trouble in our lives. Jesus even told us we would. What makes the difference when faced with them is our perspective. We either choose to fret, worry, and try to come up with a solution on our own or we choose to trust, pray, and wait for God to show us. I know sometimes that is easier said than done and I totally agree. God has had to snatch me out of my comfort zone more than once and put me back in the place where I had no other choice but to trust Him. I still have my “I want to fix this now” moments but it feels like I am experiencing those less and less. When worry or doubt start to assail my mind or an unexpected situation arises, the Spirit is quick to bring a scripture to my mind that immediately encourages me, He reminds me of a sermon note I scribbled in the margin of my Bible, or He reveals it through the devotion I read every morning. Sometimes He even shows me an amazing picture of a radar screen where I am surrounded by damaging storms, yet, I am safe with Him in the middle. He’s always with us in the middle. No matter what that middle may be.
What are you in the middle of right now? Could it be that God allowed it to surround your life so He can show you who He is? He is a personal God and He wants to be with you, right there, in the middle of it all.
When I was going through my divorce, I absolutely thought my life was over. I didn’t know how I was going to make it on my own after being married for 35 years. Oh, but let me tell you, God surrounded me in that unknown territory and met me right in the middle of all that mess. He didn’t ever leave me. No matter how deep the pain became or how many times I cried to Him repeating myself over and over, He was there. Even the times I was so broken I couldn’t utter a single word, He was there.
And He’ll be there for you, too.
No matter what you’re going through or struggling with or don’t have. He’s there. He’ll surround you. He’ll meet you in your unknown territory. He’ll walk with you in the middle of your mess. He meets us where we are. Not where He wants us to be or where we wish we were but right in the middle of life.
Trust Him.
He’s a good, good Father.
He’ll take you in His arms and show you love like you’ve never known before.
And you know what?
You’re going to love being surrounded.