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Wednesday,
November 26, 2008
Stand Still
Isaiah 55:8-11 For my thoughts are not
your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. (9) For as the
heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts. (10) For as the rain cometh down, and
the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth,
and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and
bread to the eater: (11) So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my
mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which
I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. (KJV)
We start out here today to point out the
fact that despite the outward circumstance or appearances of them, the Lord
has a plan and a way of escape for His people. The answer you are looking
for or waiting on may not always come in a time or fashion that you thought
it would, because your thoughts are limited to the carnal realm, while our
Lord’s realm is unlimited, where all things now become possible to those
that believe. Has anyone measured the height from earth to heaven? Well
according to our Lord, that is how much higher His thoughts and ways are,
and that is the wisdom and power we have access to if we allow it to
manifest. Once again it is the spirit that is willing, it’s our fleshly
fallen nature that is weak and unable to comprehend the term ‘letting
patience have its perfect work’ that you may be perfect, mature in the
things of God, lacking in nothing.
Exodus 14:10-12 And when Pharaoh drew
nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the
Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children
of Israel cried out unto the LORD. (11) And they said unto Moses, Because
there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the
wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out
of Egypt? (12) Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying,
Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for
us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness. (KJV)
The children of Israel were subject to
slave labor in Egypt, and had been crying out unto the Lord for
deliverance. Now having been delivered out of Egypt, quite miraculously as
well, they find themselves with their backs to the wall so to speak,
standing in front of the Red Sea with a bunch of angry Egyptians heading
their way, all of which had just lost one of their first born sons before
the children of Israel’s departure. Has this ever happened to you, the Lord
delivers you from a situation that was keeping you in bondage and moved you
into a new realm in your walk, and the enemy comes along and our first
thought is ‘why did we ever leave in the first place’? So with the enemy
bearing down, and according to the outward it appeared to be a losing
prospect, how did the Lord instruct Moses to handle the situation?
Exodus 14:13-15 And Moses said unto the
people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which
he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye
shall see them again no more for ever. (14) The LORD shall fight for you,
and ye shall hold your peace. (15) And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore
criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go
forward: (KJV)
Stand still, are you joking? Of all the
solutions that would have run through your mind, standing still would
probably be the last one you would have considered now wouldn’t it? Here
again we see the example of being patient in a time of tribulation, so that
we can let this patience have its perfect work and the Lord’s answer can
manifest in a way that none of the children could have thought or imagined.
Now imagine this also, the Lord spoke to them to go forward, which the only
thing in front of them was the Red Sea; which I would think according to
their thinking would have looked more like the dead sea.
Ephesians 3:19-20 And to know the love of
Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the
fulness of God. (20) Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly
above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
(KJV)
The love of Christ passes our limited
carnal knowledge, in fact it is in the realm of the heavenlies, which is
above and beyond anything we could have thought of or imagined. I can do
all things through Christ who strengthens me; the question now is, ‘will we
let Him’? I know for myself when looking at the above verses in Exodus, my
first thought may have been one of surrender, which is what the children of
Israel were considering. However the Lord had a plan of victory for them as
He does for us also, a plan He designed before the foundation of the world.
2 Chronicles 20:17 Ye shall not need to
fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation
of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to
morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you. (KJV)
Again we see where the people were facing
a critical time in their walk, and once again the counsel of the Lord is to
stand still. When you are facing a situation in your walk is your first
response to run around and get as many opinions as you can, or to be still
long enough to hear the right answer? After all, the Lord is undefeated
when it comes to battles, and for those that read through the book of
Revelation we see the end result is victory as well.
Psalms 46:10-11 Be still, and know that I
am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the
earth. (11) The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Selah. (KJV)
How are you going to hear the Lord’s
answer for yourself? Well it won’t be by running to some loud mouth
obnoxious preacher yelling at the top of his lungs, but rather stopping all
that you are doing and be still, so that you can know and not have to guess
what God is asking of you. Remember it’s a perfect love that we establish
with the Lord, that is what will cast out all the fear and doubts we may
have had going into a situation. If you desire, you can go back and study
the rest of Exodus 14 and see how the Lord parted the Red Sea, and how the
children of Israel were able to cross over on dry ground while the
Egyptians ended up drowning in destruction and despair. Now ask yourself,
how many saw that one coming, even Moses? With all that God has done and is
willing to do on our behalf, above and beyond what we could have ever asked
or thought of, will you stand still long enough too, and let patience have
its perfect work?
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