Be Still . . . The Lord Will Fight For You.

"I don't know what to do."

"I can't seem to find my way through this maze I've created."

"I am so worried I can't eat or sleep."

"What's going to happen next?"

"I don't know which way to turn."

"Lord, can you hear me?"

I'm sure at one time or another we have all screamed these words while in the middle of a desperate situation. This is life, we are in the middle of it, and things happen. Some things we create and some things are out of our control, but either way we find ourselves stuck in the middle.

As they followed Moses out of Egypt, the Israelites also found themselves in a desperate situation. With the waters of the Red Sea before them and Pharaoh's armies fast approaching behind them, they were stuck with no options in sight.

Have you been there? Stuck with no options in sight? I have. Maybe the choice before me wasn't to drown in a sea or be killed by an army who was pursuing me in fast chariots, but nevertheless I have felt stuck with nowhere to turn.

God saw what was happening to His children and He had a plan.

First Moses told the people "Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord . . . the Lord will fight for you" (Ex. 14:13, 14 NASB).

And He did!

God told the people to stop crying out to him and move towards the waters. At that point God performed a miracle. As Moses lifted up his rod, God caused the sea to go back with a strong east wind dividing the sea. Throughout the night the people were able to walk to the other side on dry land.

And what about the army that was chasing them? That morning God looked down on the army and caused their wheels to fall off their chariots and when they tried to turn back He caused the sea to return to its full depth drowning all the men.

Yes, the Lord fought for them.

                And He will do the same for us. 

                            He sees what is happening to us, His children, and He has a plan.

But we need to learn to, "Be still and know that (He is) God," (Psa. 46:10). He wants to fight for us but we need to let Him. 

What are you in the middle of today? What situation seems impossible? What's closing in on you from both sides?

God sees. 

God knows. 

God hears our cries. 

But we need to be still, 

know that God is God, 

and let Him fight for us! 

He wants to do a miracle in our lives,

 but we need to be still and let Him do it.

Me Do It!

I'm not the kind of girl that can "kick back" and just let things take care of themselves.

Oh no . . . I'm more like the toddler who won't let you help them and looks up at you and says with defiance, "No! Me do it!"

For some reason, even as an adult, I want to look at those who are trying to help me and say, "No! Me do it!"


It's not that I think my way is always the right way, or that I can do it better, it's just that for some reason I feel as though I NEED to do it.

Ok, maybe sometimes I do think I can do it better.

It's just something that drives me.

But if I stay on this track too long, I become weary, discouraged, and unproductive. Thank goodness I have family and friends around me that understand me and will call me out if need be. I have a close relationship with them and because of this they can often see before I can that I'm over-doing it and bring it to my attention.

And they do.

But they aren't the only ones.

As a Christ-follower I have spent years developing a close relationship with Jesus Christ and through Him, a close relationship with my heavenly Father. When I accepted Jesus as my Savior, I received the Holy Spirit who teaches me, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit . . . He will teach you all things," (John 14:26 NASB).

He teaches me, AND He calls me out.

And it happened again today.

So . . . here I am praying, thinking, planning -- trying to work some things out.

I started out right. I prayed.

But I just couldn't stop there and let God do it. No, the "Me Do It!" attitude took flight.

Then I saw in God's Word today five words that jumped off the page:

". . . and He will do it . . ." (Psa. 37:5 NASB).

Bang . . . called out.

The things I have been praying for are things that I need to let HIM work out, not me. I really do need to kick back, and "let go and let God," do HIS thing.

Dear Father, 

Thank you for

 loving me enough to remind me 

that I'm not the one who is in control, 

and that it is not my duty to make things happen. 

Thank you for stopping me before I get in the way 

and maybe even hinder what you are trying to accomplish. 

As Jesus taught me to pray, "Your will be done," (Matt. 6:10).

In Jesus name I pray, 

Amen.

"Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it," (Psa. 37:5 NASB).

photo courtesy of morguefile.com and greyerbaby

Lemons, Cantaloupes, Watermelons . . . Oh My!

Most of us have heard the saying, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Well that's fine and good when it's lemons. Lemons are small, easy to slice and clean up. But what if life gives you something else?





Life gave me a great big cantaloupe recently. It was bad enough that I got thrown this big melon, but before I could make anything out of it, like cute little melon balls or crisp rectangular slices, life threw something else at me.




What?


A watermelon. Matter of fact, it came flying through my house within thirty minutes of the cantaloupe.

And what did I do with my watermelon?

Let me tell you what I didn't do with my watermelon. I didn't carve it into a tea cup and fill it with fresh fruit and crown it with Tinkerbell, or carve it in the shape of a sand bucket and fill it with starfish shaped melons. Nor did I carve out a pirate ship adorned with pirate flags, a crow's nest holding a pirate Lego man, and sails made out of watermelon rind. (Yes, I looked at Pinterest. Where else would I get these crazy ideas?!!!).



I didn't make a watermelon smoothie either. But what I did was grab the watermelon and hold on for dear life. God knew I needed something large to take hold of as I tried to make sense of what was going on in my life.



Sound familiar? Do you sometimes wonder why the big things like watermelons hit you and your family while other people only get a few lemons, or maybe a grape or two thrown their way?



I have to honestly say I didn't get around to asking this question. The reason being is I was too busy carting around my own heavy watermelon. It was so heavy I had to rely on others to help me. And they did help . . . most of the time. But when I was alone at night, cuddled up to my watermelon during sleepless nights, that's when God made His presence known to me. Not only did He make His presence known . . .

• He gave me rest when I couldn't put another foot in front of the other. 

• He gave me peace when decisions, responsibilities, and fear of the unknown overwhelmed me.

• He gave me understanding when the "WHY?" questions would crowd my thoughts.

• He gave me hope when days and nights ran together.

• He gave me strength when I was at my weakest.

• He gave me love that held me in a way no one else could.

What was my cantaloupe you ask?

My husband having to have out-patient neck/spine surgery after weeks at home in the bed while experiencing great pain.

Oh, and my watermelon? 

Bringing him home from the out-patient neck/spine surgery only for him to have a heart attack within thirty minutes of getting him settled. That watermelon came flying through my house before I could even get settled with the cantaloupe.

After a ride in an ambulance, hours of waiting in the ER, 10 days in the hospital, a heart cath and then quadruple by-pass surgery we came home again . . . watermelon in tow, as we prepared for weeks of recovery.

But we're doing it. Neither the cantaloupe nor watermelon caught God by surprise. He has been faithful to see us through the most difficult days and nights. And, with each day the watermelon is getting lighter, for I'm learning to let God carry the weight of my troubles.

So the next time life gives you lemons, cantaloupes, or watermelons and they come spiralling through your kitchen window, remember God is in control. He knew what was coming and will help you.



My prayer is that you will allow God to be your helper, for He "is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (Psa. 46:1 NASB).

Now, where did I see that cute watermelon carving of a flower pot with cute little flowers made out of pineapples, grapes and strawberries. I hope I didn't forget to pin it . . .

all photos courtesy of morguefile.com

No Onions Please

As he walked through the door, he knew all the locals were checking him out. While cruising timber for a new client in a remote part of the state, my brother was hungry and decided to stop at a roadside diner for lunch.

Once inside he saw men lined up sitting on stools at the counter eating hot dogs and only hot dogs, for that was all they served. 

Beyond the counter and through an open window the cook called out from the kitchen, “How ya want ya hot dog?”

“Mustard, no onions. Make that two please.”

Standing behind the men seated at the counter my brother tried to keep his eyes forward while all other eyes were on him. He knew these men probably meet everyday, whether they wanted a hot dog or not, to fill an uneventful day with uneventful talk. He was an outsider and knew he would end up the topic of conversation as soon as he left.

To be less of a distraction he decided not to move and kept his place behind the men at the counter as they went back to eating and talking. While he stood he watched through the open window as the cook assembled the hot dogs—bun, chili, mustard, and onions.

He didn’t want onions. Before the cook could begin adding onions to his second hot dog he felt he needed to remind him of his order.

“Sir, no onions please.”

Without acknowledging the correction, the cook kept on making the hot dogs—bun, chili, mustard, and onions. The men at the counter raised their heads and watched as my brother tried to get the attention of the cook. The next time he spoke it was a little louder and with more authority.

 “Sir . . . I said no onions please.”

Still, there was no acknowledgement from the busy cook on the other side of the window. He kept on preparing the hot dogs lined up in his large hand—bun, chili, mustard, and onions.

With his back straight and feet planted, my brother did the only thing he knew to do at that point to get the cooks attention. He yelled,

 “I said NO ONIONS!”

The diner went quite, the men’s mouths flew open, and for a moment all that could be heard was the clicking of the ceiling fan. Then a booming voice forced it’s way through the window from the kitchen as the cook yelled back,

 “IT’S  NOT  YOUR  HOT DOG!”

Oh, I can’t even imagine the look that was probably on my brother’s face as the cook leaned his head out the window and yelled back. No, he didn’t tuck tail and run, but it was all he could do to stay in that small diner waiting for his lunch. With brown paper bag in hand that held his two hotdogs—bun, chili, mustard, and no onions—he paid and attempted to walk back out the door with some dignity.

As I'm reminded of this story, I wonder how many times we stand behind the counter, yelling over the heads of others telling God how to do something when He knows perfectly well what He is doing and how it needs to be done.

The next time we find ourselves trying to correct God, we need to take into consideration that He may not be working in our lives at the moment but in the life of another. In other words, we may need to remember, 

“It’s not our hot dog!” 

photos courtesy of morgueFile.com