Is Your Back Against A Wall?

Have you ever been in a place where you found yourself with your back against a wall? I know I have. I was reading in the book of Exodus this morning about the Children of Israel coming out of the land of Egypt. I noticed something very strange about the story that I hadn't paid much attention to heretofore (I have been looking for a place to use the word "heretofore." SCORE!). God led them to the place where they would be trapped with their back against a wall. A wall of water.

Exodus 13:17        Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, “The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.”
   18       Hence God led the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up in martial array from the land of Egypt.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Ex 13:17–18). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

Has the Lord put you in a place where you are at your wits end? Has God lead you to a place where you are trapped with no way out? Watch and see what happens. Just like the Children of Israel with their back against a wall, He will not abandon you either.

Exodus 14:13       But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever.
   14       “The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent.”
New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Ex 14:13–14). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

The Lord is saying the same thing to you today, "Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today! The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent."

Don't forget about that last part. "Keep silent!" We all too often run around complaining to everyone, who haven't had time to scurry away, about how bad we have it. Just be still, be quiet, and allow God to be God. He has not abandoned you. He will fight on your behalf. Now it may not look like what you are expecting, but what God has in store for you is far better than what you have planned for yourself.

God fought for the Children of Israel and they would have missed out on seeing His great deliverance if He had not lead them to the place where they had no choice but to trust Him. God will make a way for you when it seems like all hope is lost. Just keep silent and watch Him work. You will be amazed and then like the Israelites you too will sing praises to your Deliverer. Read Exodus 15:1-18 if you need some help wording your own song of praise.

Are You Stoned?

The Apostle Peter tells us in his letter we call 1 Peter chapter 2, that we are stones the Lord uses to build a temple for spiritual sacrifices and that Jesus is the Chief Cornerstone. Let's take a look at what it means to be a "stone" and what preparation we need to undergo to be useful in that spiritual temple.

Have you ever thought about how a stone is quarried and made useful for building? First it is rough cut from the side of the quarry. Then the stone mason cuts it into the shape he needs for the building. Not all the stones will look the same or have the same purpose. The mason is the one who decides what the stone will look like and how it will be used.

God has chosen you and me. It is up to Him to decide where and how He will use us. He also is the one who is chiseling away on us to conform us into the shape He wants. We don't always like either of those processes. We tend to want to tell God how to use us and where we will and will not go.

We also despise the shaping process. We look at the trials that come our way as coming from the enemy. We need to change our focus. If you are a Christian, nothing can happen to you unless it has first been approved by the Master Stone Mason. Even if your trouble comes from the enemy God will use it for His purposes in conforming you into the image He has designed for you. Do you really think Satan can destroy God's work? Never!!! As Joseph told his brothers after they had sold him into slavery and God used him to save their family from starvation, "What you meant for evil, God meant for good."

Christian, the Father loves you more than you could ever know and you are not out of His care for even one moment. The chiseling process hurts and is not any fun at all, but it is the Mason molding us into the shape He wants for us. Sometimes He will even rub two stones together. Friction may arise between brethren. Instead of fighting with a fellow Christian we need to see it for what it really is. It is God just using another fellow Christian to knock some of the burrs off each of you.

King Solomon didn't want the sound of a chisel on the temple mount. All the stones were quarried and chiseled into shape offsite then brought to the temple mount and put into place. That's the way God, the Master Stone Mason, has chosen to do it. He will shape us here on earth to fit us into place in that heavenly temple.

Are you stoned? If not, you should be!