A Red Sea Experience: You don't want to miss this!

IF YOU GET A HOLD OF THIS, IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE, I PROMISE.

Exodus 14:13b "...Fear Ye Not, Stand Still, and see the Salvation of the Lord, which He will shew to you today;..."

Hey friends,

I know that this new Chronicle is a little early, but I just couldn't help it. The Lord showed me something that I just had to share with you while it was still fresh on my mind. I want to encourage you strongly to read straight through this till the end without stopping. I am serious when I say that this kind of stuff can change your life. It certainly changed mine today.

Ok. Allow me to set the stage. This morning I went to church not knowing what to expect. I knew that I would be blessed, but had no idea how strongly and closely that the Lord would speak to my heart. Anyway. It started during the last song that we sang. During that song, the Lord began to speak to my heart very strongly about some things that I had been struggling with a lot lately. He kept reminding me to trust him and to allow him to control my situations, and not try to do it myself. The two major trials that I had been going through were #1 relationships, and #2, God's direction in my life at this point. Well, after the last song that we sang, Pastor Kirk (the Pastor of the church that I attend when I can't make it to my home church) got up behind the pulpit and announced that the Lord had prompted him to change the message that he was planning on preaching this morning. The thing that sparked my interest in this was the fact that Pastor Kirk said that in the first two services of the morning (there are 3 am services at this church) he preached his original message out of Colossians, but that now the Lord was telling him to change his message for this particular service that I was in.

Pastor Kirk continued on to say that he believed that there was one or more people in the church that were struggling in a couple of different areas. Can you guess what the first area he mentioned was? Relationships. The second area of struggle that he wanted to preach about was...God's direction in a life. Now, what I'm talking about is nothing charismatic. This was not a charismatic movement by any means, it was just the Lord speaking through a Pastor and His Word to touch hearts and communicate a message to me and others. Do I believe that the Lord can give a Pastor discernment and sensitivity to the Spirit of God in a situation? Absolutely. I will admit that it was emotional to me because of the fact that it hit right directly at home for me. The Lord knew exactly what I needed today. Every statement that was made in the message fit my situation to a T. What a powerful message that God had for my heart and life today. It blessed me so much that I wanted to share it with you. Read on.

A Red Sea Experience: "While we are waiting for God, He is waiting for us."
Quick! Read Exodus chapter 14 if you would please. This is the book and chapter that Pastor preached on this morning. This is the chapter where Moses leads the children of Israel across the Red Sea. After reading this chapter several times, I like to call this "The Red Sea Experience". How many times have you sat and wondered where you were suppose to go, or what you were suppose to do next in your life? Have you ever been one to sit there and just wait for God to move. Have you ever found yourself asking God "when are You going to do something", or "when are You going to move"? So many times we find ourself in a place where we have no idea why nothing is happening, or seemingly nothing in our life's struggles are changing or getting better. Maybe you are afraid, confused, or overwhelmed by it all. DON'T BE DECEIVED! This is the same predicament that the Israelites found themselves in just before God parted the Red Sea.

Think about this for a second. Maybe even write it down. "While we are waiting for God, He is waiting for us"! Read that again. For the past several months, I have been waiting for God to do a mighty work in my life in regards to my trials and struggles. What if maybe I have just been forgetting that all I needed to do was simply what he tells me to do in His Word and take that step of faith and trust him. I know what some of you may be thinking. Your thinking that a step of faith is not always as easy as it seems. Well, let me ask you this. Has your way been working? Which is easier, in reality, your way, or His way? Which way has brought you most success? Don't forget also that faith is the evidence of things not seen. Good thing the Lord can see far ahead of us, even if you or I can't see it.

Here is another important thing to remember, "Many times God wants us to just do the natural thing, so that he can do the supernatural." I'm not even talking about a charismatic experience. I'm talking about the fact that most of what God does could be considered supernatural. One of the definitions of supernatural, according to the Websters dictionary is "departing from what is usual or normal especially so as to appear to transcend the laws of nature". We follow His leading, and He does the work. When we do the natural thing, that opens up the door for God to do the supernatural.

Take the parting of the Red Sea for example. Even toward the beginning of the chapter in verse 4, God reminds the Israelites that He is going to make it known to the Egyptians that "...I Am the Lord...", but like we do so many times, the Israelites, sadly enough, still remained in fear. They said to Moses in verse 11, "...hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness...". They weren't doing the natural thing and just putting their trust and faith in the God that was leading them out of bondage. Here is the part that keeps me going every day. In verse 13, Moses tells the people "...FEAR YE NOT, STAND STILL, AND SEE THE SALVATION OF THE LORD, WHICH HE WILL SHEW YOU TODAY;...". 1. Fear Not. 2. Stand Still. 3. See

Do you sometimes wonder why you have no reason to fear? Do you wonder why its as easy and as natural as just not being afraid, standing still, and just watching? In verse 14, it tells me why. "The Lord shall fight for you...". Isn't that comforting and awesome to know; that He is there to fight for you and uphold you, and encourage you, and lead you, even when you know you can't do it yourself. Here comes the part that I like. As God tells Moses to tell the Children of Israel to move forward, He gives Moses this simple command in verse 16, "...lift up thy rod, and STRETCH OUT THINE HAND over the sea, and divide it...". Was there anything supernatural about the act of Moses lifting his hand and raising his rod over the sea. No! Moses did as God commanded, and God used his faith, trust, and obedience and parted the Red Sea. Moses did the natural, and God did the supernatural. When we just do the simple act of putting our faith and trust in God, he gets the honor. God reminds us in this chapter and verses 17 and 18 that "...I will get me honor". Doesn't He deserve it?


In verse 22, after the Lord parted the Red Sea, it says that "...the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left." Just like those waters parted and just hung their to each side of the Israelites as they passed across the sea floor, let the Lord take your problems, trials, struggles, confusions, and sorrows and hang them up for you. Give them to Him. Just stretch out your hand. Do the natural thing, and let God do the supernatural things and guide and direct you across your own Red Sea. Your problems might seem like a wall all around you, but remember that God is leading the way. He is making your path before you. If you don't know the end of the story, read verse 30 of chapter 14. The very last verse of Chapter 14 says "And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians; and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and His servant Moses."

So, how about your Red Sea experience. This morning when I went into church I expected that God was going to speak to me, but not so specifically, and so realistically. I guess thats what we as believers should always expect, and look forward to. Every time you enter into the presence of the Lord, expect great things. Never forget the simple truth that although sometimes we are waiting for God, most of the time, God is waiting for us.