Be Still or Move?

I have spent a lot of time asking God if I am to move or stand still. I even put it out there and asked people if you do not know what to do, do you just stand still?

In this quest of mine, I have had many revelations through others and directly from the man upstairs. I think it is important to discern situations so as to know and hear whether you are to stand still [or stand firm] or to move from that point and/or situation in your life.

In Exodus, remember the story of the Israelites? The Lord led them – He went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. They encamped by the sea and when they saw the Egyptians approaching, the bible says they were terrified. They were in fear and asked Moses why he had led them to the desert to die – they felt it would be far better to have stayed and served the Egyptians. Where was the faith, the belief in their ONE TRUE GOD? Moses answered them as we see in the following verse:

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. The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still.” - Exodus 14:13-14

Of course, the Lord then spoke to Moses,

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.”
- Exodus 14:15

Well, herein lies my “Aha!” moment. The answer is not one or the other but both stand still and move. No. I have not gone crazy and spoken out of both sides of my mouth. The answer is to stand still UNTIL God tells you to move.

The Lord then tells Moses to raise his staff and part the seas for the Israelites to cross,

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. -Exodus 14:21-22

Did Moses hesitate? Did he question if, in fact, this was God speaking to him? No. He moved by God’s direction and brought his people to safety. As they walked, I can only imagine what was going through their minds. Excitement? For sure. Fear? Most likely. Shame for not believing God was capable of delivering them from the advancing armies? I would think so. Not unlike times in our own lives when we doubt while in the midst of the advancements of the enemy or results of our bad choices. Coming out of it, we may feel like those Israelites on the walk between divided waters.

The waiting times in our life are opportunities to believe or not believe what God’s word says. It is sometimes laboring and burdensome but, we must come to the realization that God’s plans are perfect and we often can mess it up when we stray to the beaten path rather than taking the narrow road. Paraphrasing several books/verses, the bible tells us many things. Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified. Everything is beautiful in time. Do not worry about what you will eat or what you will wear. He cares for even the sparrow. So many words God has given us to remind us that He IS God, now and always. So many of His words we need to hide in our hearts and meditate on night and day. God will never ‘NOT’ give us a way out of a situation or work it in such a way that we grow and it glorifies and honors Him.

When advancements/storms hit, how will we prove faithful? Will we be tossed to and fro or will we rely on God to part the sea and lead us to dry, high ground despite the walls of water on either side of us?

As I see

Gazing out over the majestic blue
silencing a world that screams out
negative, harsh, existentially profane

Crying out across the waves
they mock, watching...waiting
deeper, higher, torrential, insurmountable

Walking farther out into the surf
hope of release, desire for no return
wishing, believing, desperately seeking

Hearing your voice rise above
clearly speaking, echoing in the wind
audible, loving, affirming, life-giving

Gazing out over the majestic blue
standing, knowing your plan is unfolding
fearing, knowing, waiting, believing

Pieces...again 9/1/09

As I walked along the shore today, I picked up, as usual, pieces of sand dollars. As you have read in my previous blogs, God has really used this as a catalyst in my life to increased discernment, peace and wisdom. I had collected maybe 7 or 8 pieces and as usual, in the back of my mind/heart, I was hoping for a sign - for a whole sand dollar.

I felt like I spend so much time looking for the "pieces" that I miss so many blessings. I force myself to analyze every detail, every path, to ensure I miss nothing. But, in that, I miss everything at times. To learn that sometimes, the search is futile because what piece brings PEACE is right in front of you not to the right or to the left. You have to just stand still and pay attention. Human nature sends our eyes darting in every direction, alot of times, not seeing what is being provided right in front of you.

All the sudden, I felt like it was time to let go of the pieces analogy and realize that lesson is learned, that message received. It is time to move forward, certain that the plan is unfolding - even when it seems it is all falling apart. :-)

Defenses 9/1/09

As I walked along the beach [yes again - my writing is usually inspired there!], I had been praying generally. I was asking for answers along with a peace that would get me through the current myre of chaos that is my life right now. I noticed something odd along the shoreline.

At first glance, it appeared to be some mutation of fish/squid...it was obvious its breathing was labored due to lack of water. Immediately, I wanted to throw it back into the ocean but was fearful - not sure why - it was just weird, odd, sci-fi even! A man came up out of curiosity and was just as boggled. We looked for a large shell to scoop the creature up with. At closer inspection, we realized this was a baby octopus - how cool! Anyhow, as the man bent down and brought the shell near to scoop it up, all the sudden, it turned purple/red and its die [ink, whatever you call it] immediately surfaced. It was a beautiful unfolding of nature in its raw form. Well, we walked out into the surf to ensure it did not get washed back up and watched as it made its way in the sand, at the bottom of the water, as waves rolled over, not in any way impeding its progress back into the ocean. As the man and I parted ways, he said that this was my good deed for the day and he was sure I was going to have the best day ever. Little did he know, he made my day just by saying that. LOL. As I walked away with a grin, God began to speak.

Often in life, we are perplexed with why things happen the way they do, why we cannot overcome in certain areas, why God waits so long to answer prayers or to bring provision. We look at in a defensive manner rather than an offensive manner. You see, as soon as we came close to the octopus, it automatically used the only defense it had to a perceived threat. Little did the octopus realize that the perceived threat was actually a life-saving gift. You see, in our lives, we sometimes defend ourselves automatically when what we perceive as a threat - what hurts us the most - is actually something that is working towards the greater good in our life.

I am certain, in this epiphany, there is something for me to learn, to see, to recieve. The automatic knee-jerk reaction in life is to protect ourselves; whether that be from people, from emotion - whether positive or negative, from situations, even from God at times. What happens when we trust that everything truly does work for good in the lives of those who know Christ? What happens if when bad things happen to good people, we recognize that there is a lesson to learn, a reason for it?

We are an imperfect people in many ways. Probably, the largest imperfection is the inability, at times, to see outside of ourselves - to see beyond the current and look forward to the "is to come." The octopus went in defense mode but did that stop our action of saving it? No. It had no idea what was going to happen next. Most likely, it just held on. I mean who knows what octopus babies think...lol. Its instinct was that of "fight or flight." The problem was it had no options - no way to go anywhere WITHOUT help. Sometimes in life, we are presented with circumstances that prevent us from doing anything but do the best we can and hang on tight for the ride to see where it ends up. Just as the octopus, we have to hang on, go deep where the waves cannot toss us around and back to the shore where we started, and just keep moving forward. :-)

Trust. 8/25/09

Once again, I hit the beach and God shows up!

As my daughter and I were walking the beach [slowly for now - lol], we noticed something in the surf at the first sand bar. At closer inspection, we realized there was what we thought a whale stuck in the sand bar just getting hit by wave after wave after wave, barely able to recover from the first to the next. Obviously laboring, we watched, anxiously waiting for this beautiful creature to break free.

As we inched closer and closer, we realized it was not one, not two, but three whales [or we think it may have been manatees because I don't think we have belugas here]! They were huddled close as if hanging on together through this crazy, chaotic storm. It seemed they were tired, waiting even, for it to end and find the calmness of the ocean deep. We sat and watched as the current moved them northward rather than the opportunity to head back out. All the while, these three held on to one another that I swear there was, at no point, release or separation.

Of course, we called the Coast Guard and walked parallel to the never-ending wave breaks, feeling helpless to assist. Suddenly, with a great burst of energy, they seemed to break free and together, still hanging on as a group, they swam into the break line. We walked another quarter of a mile to ensure the strong current did not carry them back in to shore. I believe they made it through and back into the vast ocean.

As we watched and the sun gave way to the moon, we tried to spot them, to somehow be comforted in knowing that they, together, conquered what probably seemed to them a great storm. In that moment, I saw clearly what I had been asking God about from the moment I stepped onto the beach.

I even realized the point we tried to get across to the kids this week at children's church. The basic gist being that when you love God, you do things for others....love one another basically...serve others, not just yourself...hang on tight to your family and friends - those that WILL work together to get through and back to where you are supposed to be...where you belong.

We can weather storms on our own in this lifetime and we may be okay and make it through. But when we weather the storms with God, with family, with friends, it is alot easier to bear. Just like those three whales [or manatees...lol], hang on tight - do NOT let go, as those waves crash and those storms hit, reserve your energy and gather your strength. Then, when you see that break - that light shining through, go for it and swim like there's no tomorrow because there is a vast ocean out there...blessings you cannot even imagine.

Sometimes we get stuck, sometimes wave after wave keeps knocking us down, and sometimes we come very close to hitting that shoreline that sucks the life out of you but...those storms, those crashing waves trying to overtake you and wash you BACK to the shoreline...that is an opportunity for God to work...to align your life in such a way that no storm, no wave, no sandbar can affect your ability to break free and find what the ocean of life has to offer. :-)

Surrender 8/13/09

Surrender means growth & progress. Ultimately, it is surrender to God but in the physical, often, it is letting go of control. That can be good & bad. If we were left to live a Godly life by our own strength or make wise choices by our own processes, we wd be in a mess. Do not confuse surrender with passivity. It is a proactive process-a day to day choice...struggle even...to allow (trust) God's will to steer ur life & decisions...a choice to let go of what you want & moving forward in what you know...trusting God to make straight the path before you & order ur steps.

Letting Go. 8/9/09

At the beach, I am blessed.

Read my pieces blog or u may not get today's insightful epiphany....so, based on recent life, I spend time trying to sort thru the myriad of emotions intricately intwined in divorce/life. My walks on the beach allow me peace & introspection to truly seek God's will in my life & freedom to express anger, frustration, regret, loss, failure, fear, even relief, joy, expectation,happiness freedom to trust in who I am & who I hope to become for myself & my kids.

In my efforts to find "beauty in the pieces" that I so often blog about, I was picking up the reminders God always provides along the shoreline. My hands were getting full & I dropped a piece. I quickly turned around to retrieve it. That still, small voice said, "No. Let that go." This contradicts all that God has shown me, right? No.

Once again, the big man upstairs enlarges the picture. You see, we are to find the beauty in the pieces-whether that be happiness, joy, blessings or pain, anguish, loss...there is beauty to be found in life (pieces) that makes us who we are. Herein lies today's lesson in faith-trusting every piece has a purpose. Not hanging on so tightly & carrying armloads with us through life. At some point, it becomes a heavy, difficult burden. Not only that, how do we continue to see the beauty in the pieces left much less pick them up to see? There comes the time where the lesson is learned, the purpose realized. At that point, we must make room for more...we must let go. In this realization, I took all the pieces I was carrying & realized my load has been heavy for quite some time & I'm missing the beauty God has for me NOW. Each piece, I saw a lesson learned, my heart broken, a forfeited marriage, provisional struggles, lack of faith, fear, loss, expectations unmet, even low self worth. I reminded myself that His word is true & never comes back void. I can let go, have faith & move on to what He has NOW. I threw every piece out there & walked forward ready to pick up more... :-)