Too Close For Comfort
(6 minutes)
Last week we looked at the story of Moses and the Israelite nation at the Red Sea. Yahweh asked them to camp there and lured their enemy, Egypt, out to subdue them. Why does Yahweh ask us to camp in certain situations in order to draw our enemy out?
"He does that so that you and I can see Him drown everything that has held us captive in the Red Sea. Think about that for a moment. Think about your greatest concern. Whatever keeps you up a night. Whatever just keeps popping up in your head that you keep playing over and over. What would it feel like to see Abba drown that in the Red Sea for you? What would that feel like if you never had to think about it again? If you never even had to talk about it again? If you never even had to worry about it again? What would it look like to see God deal with your biggest concern? ...Well, why hasn't He? A lot of times it's because we refuse to camp and stand still long enough for Him to deal with the issues we're concerned about. If we're honest we like to run from problems, rather than look them in the eye and let Him deal with them." (Pastor Tim)
We all have things that we're concerned about. We all have things that we secretly worry about. Abba doesn't want this for us! Abba's idea of freedom is not us running as fast as we can away from our problems only to live our entire lives looking over our shoulders to see if it's catching up to us. Can you imagine if the Israelites would not have witnessed their enemy, Egypt, drowning in the Red Sea? Can you imagine what their lives would have looked like as they tried to follow Yahweh out in the wilderness? In my mind's eye, I can see them vacillating, their attention torn between following Yahweh and checking behind them every couple of minutes to make sure Egypt wasn't gaining ground. Abba can't have our undivided attention as long as we're checking to see if our enemy is closing in on us.
This is why we must inherit a new perspective, Abba's point of view, concerning the things we're walking through, especially the hard things. This is also why we have to let our hearts be healed and fully convinced that Yahweh is pure light, having no darkness in Him at all. Because when He asks us to camp in these hard situations, we have to trust Him and stand still long enough for Him to actually deal with the problem. What did this mean for Israel? Well, the enemy got uncomfortably close. Close enough to cause panic in the people of God. What thoughts cross your mind when your problem gets uncomfortably close? What's ruling our heart at that moment - chaos and panic, or trust and rest?
As we inherit Abba's perspective and let His goodness convince us that He is pure light, it will become much easier to camp in these situations and watch Abba deliver us out of them all. The Israelites' issue was that they didn't trust anyone. They didn't trust Egypt, they didn't trust Moses, and they didn't trust Yahweh. And in the absence of trusting Abba, we will always default to anxiety, insecurity, and panic.
What problem are you still running from that Abba is asking you to camp in?
Beloved One, it's Abba's goodness that has you camped at the Red Sea. It's Abba's goodness that allows the enemy to get uncomfortably close. And it's Abba's goodness that gives you a front-row seat to the drowning of your enemy in the Red Sea, so you'll never have to worry about it ever again. Will you camp long enough to see it come to pass?
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Worship: "Jireh" by Elevation Worship & Maverick City
Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place
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