“Our ancestors in Egypt were not impressed by the Lord’s miraculous deeds. They soon forgot His many acts of kindness to them. Instead, they rebelled against Him at the Red Sea. Even so, He saved them — to defend the honor of His name and to demonstrate His mighty power.” Psalm 106:7-8, (NLT)
I came across these verses recently and I was transported back to a conversation I had with my dad.
He shared with me a discussion he had with a troubled man who didn’t believe in the Bible because he had never seen a miracle. My dad proceeded to tell him for the next two hours all the miracles he had seen and experienced in his life!
I wondered, could I do that?
How easy it is when we get in difficult places, like the Israelites. When we’re backed up against our own version of the Red Sea, we begin to question God. Where is His power? His greatness? His goodness?
We easily assume He has set us up to fail. We accept that He’s a dangling-carrot-kind-of-God who takes great joy in yanking things away whenever we get too close. We believe He’s a game-playing God who wants to see if we’ll flinch or yell “Uncle.” We think He’s a malicious, vindictive, and troubling God.
Why?
Because we’ve forgotten. We’ve forgotten the ways He has demonstrated His might and power, His unending love, His elaborate grace. We’ve forgotten that He is greater than us, wiser than us. We can’t seem to remember that He’s all-knowing, the ultimate strategist. We’ve forgotten the miracles.
So instead of forgetting, let’s choose to remember and hold close our God-sightings.
When the times of disillusionment come, when we feel God had backed us into a corner, we must remember the treasure trove of God-sightings. Let’s bring them out into the light and cling to their truth, even when we can’t see.
Jehovah God, we confess our short-sightedness and forgetfulness of Your great work in our life. How easy it is to let our circumstances determine our belief. We are fickle human beings who easily lose sight of our Creator. Teach us to remember, to treasure these miracles in our heart so that when times get hard and our way is dark, we will recall the light and see our way back to You. Amen.
“And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7
Contrary to popular belief, peace is not attained by manipulating circumstances. People think that if they could just rearrange their situation—find a new job, overcome depression, stop a spouse from filing for divorce—then life would be wonderful. But that kind of self-reliance is both misleading and unbiblical. We might arrive at a temporary calm, but fixing a problem outside of the Lord’s will won’t provide lasting peace.
The truth is, God’s peace is available no matter how painful and hopeless your situation seems. A tranquil heart comes from trusting Him. Though warning that believers would have trouble on this earth, Jesus assures us that He has overcome the world. In other words, we can have peace in the midst of our trials because the Lord walks alongside us. Our relationship with Christ provides all we need to face difficulty—including courage, wisdom, guidance, and comfort.
Jesus promised peace for those who trust in Him, and He delivers on His promises. Our part is to take one day at a time and believe that He will carry us through. Our Father wants to see us demonstrate faith; we can depend on Him to meet our needs and bestow the divine peace that surpasses all comprehension.
