Coffee Cup Confessions: Finding Hope Not Hype in Famous Bible VersesНамуна

Stuck Statement

Maybe you feel like you are in the middle and can't see your way out right now. Perhaps you feel stuck or like you've entirely lost control. Maybe you don't know how you are going to keep moving. So let me introduce you to Moses. He felt this way.

But let me catch you up on yesterday's devotion. Joseph's family, his brothers, and their families would stay in Egypt and become the Israelite people. The Israelites grew in number like crazy. And what started as a good partnership in Joseph's life turned into a nightmare as the years escalated. As the new Pharaoh came into power, he forgot the contributions of Joseph and his family and tortured and enslaved the Israelites.

Things just kept getting worse.

Finally, after 430 years, God saw their hurt and came down in powerful ways to rescue them. He promised to take them to a new land. So, as they finally busted up out of Egypt, on their way to the Promised Land, filled with all their enemies' gold and silver, God said, "turn around." That's a crazy ask of people that had just left their past behind. God asked them to camp out between Migdol and the Red Sea. And they, through the leadership of Moses, followed the direction of God, except there was a problem. The Egyptians saw them in confusion, and the Egyptian army, which initially let them go, started coming after them ferociously. Now, this large number of people were stuck with nowhere to go. The most powerful army in the world was behind them, and this massive body of water, the Red Sea, was in front of them.

Some of us may already know how this story pans out. But, if we re-enter the middle of this story, it had to be brutal for Moses. Moses cried out to God, and God spoke to him.

Then Moses delivered this stuck statement. Right in the middle, with nowhere to go, Middle Moses said, "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. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."

Man, that had to be a hard statement to make at that moment. The mighty army is directly behind you, and his warfare strategy is to stay still. That sounds like a stupid strategy.

Sometimes we need to be reminded that when the worst of the world comes at us, it's not by our own force or exertion or power or control that things will change, but it will come through God acting on behalf of His people.

The truth is that we are not in control. Our world can shut down overnight. We can try to get ready and prepare for whatever may come at us, but there are times when no preparation is enough. We just plain and simple have no answers. We get stuck. And it's in sticky situations where God shines the brightest.

So, what happened? God shows up strongly, parts the waters, and sure enough, the Israelites walk on dry ground into their next season! The phrase I've heard a lot is, "when you've had enough, God is enough." But, actually, the Bible says he's El Shaddai, which means "The God of more than enough." So, he's got more than enough for you.

While it may not have made sense at the moment, and all the Israelites may have been thinking is we must keep moving, God had something better. God wanted them to not only walk into freedom into their next season, but He allowed through this miracle moment for the Israelites to see their enemies of the past wholly taken out in the rear-view mirror. God showed the Israelites that not only do I have a future for you, but your past problems don't have to come with you into it!

Our God specializes in making a way when there is no way. God is perfect under pressure. He is not worried. He's not concerned. He's not pacing back and forth by what He reads on Facebook. He's not staying up late at night trying to figure His way out of this. He's entirely in control! When you are stuck, you have a statement you can make!

There are a few chapters in your Bible reading plan for you today, but to get a fuller picture of Moses and the Israelites, read Exodus, chapters 1-14.