Be Still…and REMEMBER what the Lord Has Done!
Daily Devotions based the Sermon from January 3, 2021
Full Sunday message: CONTEMPORARY or TRADITIONAL
THIS WEEK: Be Still…and Get a Move On!
I can forget a lot of things.
This past week on our family vacation, my wife and I take time to reflect on the year coming to a close and plan for the year ahead. She is better at it than I, but she suggested scrolling through the pictures on our phones to jog our memory as to the things that happened in 2020. (GREAT idea by the way!) In doing this, I remembered a lot more of what happened in 2020 than I would have without the aid of pictures. Then when we compared notes, she remembered things I had forgotten and visa versa.
In doing this, it was honestly hard to join the “2020 stinks, on with 2021” crowd. Sure we utilized our home, health and car insurance (some multiple times)…sure the ministry of the church went online and faced challenges…we’ve had to wear masks and social distance, but what we realized was 2020 had a LOT of blessings as a result of the challenges we faced…personal blessings, ministry blessings, family blessings, financial blessings, and more.
It just took time to remember what the LORD HAD done instead of focusing on what I wanted him to do or the things I wish would have been different.
God has been faithful for thousands of years. 2020 was one more…I’m confident 2021 will be the same.
The problem is, it is easy to forget the blessings God has given. I do it to. I can focus on what God HASN’T given…just like the Israelites did.
Exodus 14:10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”
God had just delivered the people in a miraculous way through the tenth plague, the event marked by Passover (Exodus 12). Yet, when faced with a new obstacle, they forgot the power of God and his promise to deliver them. The result? They wanted to go back to slavery and die in Egypt.
God used Moses to calm the fears of the people and focus them on remembering the deliverance the Lord had already orchestrated…to instill confidence on the deliverance he would orchestrate.
When I face a challenge or fear the future, it is easy to forget how the LORD has helped you in the past. Each situation seems new and overwhelming. To the LORD it’s another opportunity to remind you of his power and promises. The Israelites didn’t muster the army to get out Egypt, the Lord did it for them. In the same way, he would do it again.
Don’t forget…God will do the same for you!
Apply: God has been faithful and acted on your behalf. Perhaps this is a good time to reflect back on 2020 – use your pictures on your phone if you have to. Make a list of what the LORD has done for you in the past year…keep them handy to remind you when the next obstacle in life comes.
Prayer: Lord God, thank you for your faithfulness and all the things you have done for me in the past. Forgive me for forgetting and fearing you will abandon me in the present. When I am afraid and the obstacle large, lead me to be still and remember what you have done in the past and look forward to your promise to act in the present. Amen.
Be Still…and turn TO the LORD!
Daily Devotions based the Sermon from January 3, 2021
Full Sunday message: CONTEMPORARY or TRADITIONAL
THIS WEEK: Be Still…and Get a Move On!
I am a person of action…most of the time! If something is broken, I want to fix it. If there is a problem, I am willing to help out.
But I have a hard time turning to others to help me solve issues or accomplish tasks I can’t figure out or get done on my own.
Too often I treat the Lord like this too. I look at the circumstance, situation or issue and see if I can figure it out, fix it or make it better. Only when I get frustrated and stuck…maybe I turn to the Lord for help.
The Israelites were facing a huge challenge. God had delivered them in a powerful way from their slavery in Egypt, yet now they were faced with the Red Sea in front of them, cliffs of both sides and the army of Pharaoh in hot pursuit behind them.
They thought, “We’re going to die. We might as well go back to Egypt and offer ourselves as slaves again.” They didn’t see how THEY could fix the problem they were in.
God gave Moses a different solution to offer the people. Instead of turning FROM the LORD…be still…and turn TO the Lord.
Exodus 14:13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
If you’re curious of the details – read Exodus chapter 14. Bottom line: God wins. Israel is delivered, and the army of Pharaoh perishes at the bottom of the Red Sea.
As you enter 2021, what situations in life are you finding yourself turning FROM the Lord instead of TO the Lord?
2020 had many challenges. 2021 will have them too. So perhaps in this first week of the year, make a decision to turn first to the Lord when your challenges arise.
Instead of blaming God for the problem, invite God into the problem.
Instead of trying to figure out the problem first, ask God to show the way through the problem.
Instead of running from God and back to what is familiar, run with God and follow where he leads, even if the challenge or change is difficult.
Israel thought running back to Egypt was the solution. Yet, that direction led them back into slavery. Being still and turning to God led to their deliverance and freedom.
God desires the same for you. Be still and turn TO God in 2021!
Apply: Take time this week to be still and identify those situations which are or tempting you to turn from the LORD. Ask the Spirit of God to give you wisdom and strength to turn TO the Lord. Perhaps asking the simple question in a situation might help: “What happens if I turn from the Lord and do it my way versus what might happen if I turn TO the Lord and do it his way?”
Prayer: Dear Lord, give me trust and confidence all year to turn TO you in every circumstance and never turn FROM you. Amen.