The other day a pastor friend of mine and I were talking
about life and the things going on in each other’s world. As preachers often
do, we took the upcoming message that we were working on and tried to find the
application for the other person.
His message "in the
hopper" was rooted in Isaiah 40:31…"those
who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like
eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be
faint."…the pastor told me that "walking counts too" and that
people like me sure enjoy the soaring and running but we have a tendency to
resist the walking part.
My frustration lifted instantly and
I felt like I was not out of God’s will for not being as productive as I
thought I should be. Later it occurred to me that if I were bucking hay or
chopping wood with my boys, I would certainly stop and rest them from time to
time. I couldn’t as a grown man work them into the ground; that would burn them
out and take them out of the game. If I want to instill a good and healthy work
ethic into them as boys that will later serve them as grown men, I had better
pace them, rest them and even let them enjoy a little along the way.
Our Father in heaven is no different
with us, so we walk with him from time to time. I no sooner have this properly
placed in my heart when my wife comes from the other end of the house and says
"the Lord just gave me a scripture"…this is where you better be
paying attention men…Robin says, our verse for today is Exodus 14:13. “…Don’t
be afraid. Just stand where you are and watch the Lord rescue you.” (NLT)
Seriously? I just get off my
"performance wagon" and begin training myself to walk and now He
wants me to stand still! The present battle I am in, I have a very human tendency
to take matters into my own hands. God told Moses to tell the people to "Fear
ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD” (KJV) You see if I am
at all in motion, when victory comes, by my very nature, I will take most if
not full credit for it. God refers to "His salvation"…if God had
started handing out the credit for his great works and allowing men and mortals
to have even temporal credit for it in the beginning, He would have a
contradiction on his hands when He got to the book of Acts and said that "He has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved."
When I was a boy, my horse, Big Moe
would do anything I asked him to do until I turned and headed back to the
barn. It was on contest of spur, reign,
bit and spurs. We fought every step of the way back to the barn. Moe wanting to
gallop and me fighting with every tool I had to restrain him. That horse who
loved me one minute would have thrown and left me the next if he could. I am
presently desperate for victory but more desperate to position myself so that
when I am victorious He is exalted.
Be still
and know He is God.
He will be
exalted among the nations
And in the
earth.
Jeff Harter
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