Intentionally Trapped by God

One of the things I recently rediscovered has to do with how God will intentionally place you somewhere where your only recourse is Him alone. It is normally a place that most find to be incredibly uncomfortable.


As most all of us remember, Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt and became trapped in between the Red Sea and Pharaoh.  My memory at one time was that Moses had left Egypt and as he was attempting to guide the people he somehow happened to find himself due to timing and geography in a bad position.  But was that truly the case?  Let's read the following verses together.  Exodus 14:1-4,

Then the Lord spoke to Moses:  "Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea:  you must camp in front of Baal-zephon, facing it by the sea.  Pharaoh  will say of the Israelites:  They are wandering around the land in confusion; the wilderness has boxed them in.  I will harden Pharaoh's heart so he will pursue them (moses and the Israelites)."

WHAT?  God told Moses to take all of His (God's) people and put them in a compromised position????


Trapped.  And by the God they were trusting in.  But why would God do that?


You see, in life, God will intentionally put you in a position that is VERY uncomfortable and has no known remedy.  I am convinced that when God parted the Red Sea and did what only He could do that He ALONE received the glory.  And when Pharaoh and all of His men were in pursuit of the Israelites and were destroyed by the Red Sea closing back up, again God is the only one who could have possibly received the praise.  


By now we must come to the point where we recognize that ALL of life is a display for all to see.  From Genesis to Revelation and Adam and Eve to Jesus second return.  We must realize that all breath and all history is about God and who He is.  It is His story.  It is a few thousand years of human existence to see who will love and receive their Creator and who will not.  Who will take Him at His word and believe He is who He says He is and who will not.  That, my friend, is the big picture.


Today God may have intentionally put you in a place where you are crying out in agony and distress over the outcome.  First, I would say the outcome is NOT your responsibility.  It's God's.  Secondly, the place of peace for you is to follow the words that Moses spoke to the Israelites right before God parted the sea.  Moses said,


"Do not be afraid.  Stand firm and see the salvation of your God.  He will provide for you today......the Lord will fight for you; you must be quiet...."  Exodus 14:13


It is not that God is cruel, it is that He is desperately in love with humanity and is communicating the way He wants to about who He is. About what He wants to be and how much power He has ready to be shown on the behalf of those who will trust Him.  You and I have been invited to enter a love relationship with the God of all things.  But just like in physical human relationships we only learn about one another by walking through things together.  I believe that the God of Heaven is going to fight for you today, as Moses said, we must be quiet and trust.




Father,  I am desperately in love with you.  With Your ways and Your sovereignty.  You alone know why you allow us to go through certain moments.  However, I for one, choose today not to be afraid.  To stand patiently and eagerly by faith in order to see what incredible things You have in store for me.  I Iove you.


Joel

Success

Would you like to make that face at the end of your life?  I would!


I sit here thinking about success and what it takes to see it.  I can not help but conclude that true success comes to those who are intentional about one quality, relentlessness.


Often times the only difference between success and failure is trying some more.  But the issue is some of us get tired, fatigued and burned out and we ultimately quit.  Could one of the most important qualities in all of life be relentlessness?  


If we were to define "relentlessness" we would see words like:

 rigid, unbending, adamant, inflexible and unyielding ....

What if today we stirred ourselves to be relentless?  What if we gut checked ourselves and said "why not"?  The only thing keeping us from achieving what God has called us to is us.  It is taking Jesus at His word.  If we find the ability today to be tenacious, we might just get to the end and get to taste the sweet taste of success because we never gave up.  2 Peter 1:3 says, 

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him (Jesus) who called us by His own glory and goodness..."

Do you believe that?  I today have had to reaffirm my commitment to seeing my life through to the end.  To reaffirm my desire to be relentless and to believe again that He HAS given me ALL I need. To believe again that I am lacking NOTHING.  I for one am not going to get to the end of my life and be filled with regret.  Join with me today and gut check your life.  Pick yourself up off of the mat, look your opposition right in the eye and re-engage with ferocity because the God of the universe, the One who told the Sun to rise HAS equipped you better than you might know.  Today will you join me in being intentional to making one of the qualities of your life relentlessness?  Only you can answer that question for yourself......below is the prayer that is in my heart for myself today...you can pray it to if you would like...

Jesus, today I choose to attempt what I may think is impossible, but with you is closer than ever.  Forgive me where I have doubted and failed.  I love you passionately even through my weakness.  And I am thankful for Your goodness and mercy and I commit to leaving all my energy and passion on the field.  I will give you ALL I have for as long as You give me breath.......You are my All in All... 

Joel