Obedience is the Key

Sometimes what you are going through is not entirely about you; God uses our circumstances and our obedience to impact the hearts of those who do not yet believe.

Exodus 13:17

For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”

Exodus 14:2, 4

“Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea...

And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.”

The Israelites were on the move; they had already left Egypt and were on their way to the Promised Land before God allowed the Pharaoh to realize what he had done. (Ex 14:5)

Even though they left Egypt “ready for battle” and with the wealth of the Egyptians, God directed them away from the path that would have resulted in a war with the Philistines. (Ex 13:17) God knew that if they had faced a war, they would change their minds and return to captivity.

So then....Why would God have His people turn back and make camp instead of continuing on their journey? They were making good pace in putting distance between them and Egypt. They even took an alternate route to avoid a war and yet now, God has them stop and turn back; turn to make camp at the same time Pharaoh decides to pursue them.

God leads them away from a war just to position them for a battle...why?

Verse 4....so that the Egyptians (the very same people who held the Israelites in captivity) would know that He is the Lord. This was about God moving on the hearts of those who did not yet know Him. God was about to reveal Himself to a nation as well as remind a nation of who they serve.

Moses was instructed to tell the terrified Israelites “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 to be still.”

The battle you are in right now may seem overwhelming and it might not be about just you. God may wish to reveal Himself to those around you. As He instructed His people then, He is instructing you today....

Listen (Do not be afraid)

Trust (Stand Firm)

Obey (Be Still)

God did not mean to stand still or do not move. No, they were to get up and move to safety as He provided their path. He was telling them to stop complaining, to stop fretting, to stop focusing on what was behind them and start focusing on the life in front of them. He instructed them to move in the direction of the Promise. (...press on toward the goal... Phil 3:14-15; ...keep your eyes on Jesus... Heb 12:2)

As they obeyed and moved through the obstacle in front of them (the Red Sea), God took care of what was behind them. In doing so, God gained the glory and the Egyptians were given the opportunity to know that He is the Lord.

What a wonderful God He is! As He takes us THROUGH the hard places, our faith is strengthened and He reveals Himself to those who are watching.

With that in mind, what 'enemy' are you facing today?

I encourage you to do as the Israelites...

Listen (Do not be afraid)

Trust (Stand Firm)

Obey (Be Still)

and in the process, be reminded of the God you serve.

Lesson of Mindfulness

Ezekiel 37:1

The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; and it was full of bones.

This verse is full of knowledge nuggets! It is like an archaeological dig where you have to uncover the treasures as you gently sift through the words. (Proverbs 25:2) It is similar to the parables that Jesus used to teach with; many applications as one looks deeper into the story. God reveals the initial interpretation of the vision in verses 11-28; the restoration of Israel. However, since we know that God is a Master Storyteller and His Word is relatable to us today, there are still bits of wisdom to be discovered within these words. Let's go digging....

“The hand of the Lord”: Hand in this verse refers to an open hand, indicating power, direction and means. God reveals that His hand...one with power and direction...is available from the very beginning of the journey, guiding him through the valley.

“...was on me and brought me out...” This phrase, interestingly, is simply one word in the original text...yatsa'. The meaning of this one word is … to go out; to go forth. Yet it can also be defined as to germinate; to expand, like a plant.

“...set me down...” the original meaning of this word related to respiring or resting to draw a breath; the sitting down to rest, to be quiet.

I find this fascinating! Ezekiel is standing in the middle of utter devastation. God tells him to look with purpose at the destruction before him...to notice the dry, dis-articulated bones; to truly take in the hopelessness of the chaos in that valley. It is then that God speaks a word...nuwach...which literally means to breathe freely again due to resting. He encourages Ezekiel to simply pause, to sit down and rest a moment. Can you hear the soft voice speak to Ezekiel....”Draw a breath Ezekiel and allow Me to calm your mind so that in the middle of the chaos, you may notice Me.” In other words, Be Still and know that I am God.

I believe God was teaching Ezekiel a very important lesson in that valley...the lesson of mindfulness. Your Father asks you to be present WITH Him in each moment of your day. Being mindful of the Hand of God and His presence has the ability to shift your perspective and correct your vision.

God speaks to each of us in the middle of our own chaos. He encourages us to slow down a bit and pause to catch our breath. Pause long enough to allow your vision to see things for how they truly are and not simply how they may seem in the moment. It is in the “resting” that God's Hand will cause His Truth to germinate and expand in your spirit.

May you embrace the lesson of mindfulness found within the story of the valley in Ezekiel 37; as you do, may you breathe freely once again knowing that God is always with you.

A Royal Mandate

Ezekiel 37 tells the story of Ezekiel in the valley of dry bones. It is just twenty-eight verses but the wisdom, knowledge and hope that is revealed within those verses is quite profound and refreshing! Let's take a walk through the valley with Ezekiel and see what God reveals to us along the way. 

This chapter falls within the part of the Book of Ezekiel where God tells His people that He is going to bring them out of captivity and restore them as a nation. The story of the dry bones is intended to be an illustration of encouragement to His people to have a humble faith in their God. However, to understand the magnitude and scope of what God is illustrating, we need to know a few things about their circumstances.

The nation of Israel was divided within themselves as well as being scattered among the nations of their enemies. They were surrounded and not united as a people...they were without Hope.

God had already given them words of reproof and conviction (chapters 4-24). Now He brings them His Word of Hope...He is going to bring them out of their captivity. He used the illustration of dry bones to make His case for Him. Let's look through the eyes of Ezekiel as we walk through this valley...

As we stand in the middle of this open valley, we look around and see the bones; so many bones, scattered everywhere. They are not buried so they are sun-bleached to a pale, white color and they are in no order...not placed together so that we can make out a full skeleton...No, it's just a chaotic mess of individual bones. It appears that a great struggle or even a battle had taken place in this valley...what is left is the destruction of the people who lost that battle.

We hear a voice...”Can these bones live?” What kind of question is that? We see the evidence of utter devastation...no sign of life...nothing but chaos. Tears may have stung Ezekiel's eyes and his heart may have begun to break as he stood there thinking of the lives that these bones represented. 

“Can these bones come back to life? Only You hold the answer to that question God. What I see before me is something that only You can restore.” BINGO! That is the answer that comes from a humble heart and acknowledges the Sovereign Power of God!    With that type of faith, God will move mountains on your behalf.

After Ezekiel answered, God told him to prophesy or to speak to the bones by a divine power... “All you dried up bones, LISTEN to the voice of God Almighty!” As Ezekiel repeated the word that God commanded him to say, he heard a loud noise...like thunder; a great rattling like an earthquake or the sound of chariots. Now, there are so many knowledge nuggets in this story but we are going to pause here and examine this one a bit more closely...

Verse 4 “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.” in this verse, “word” means … A Royal Mandate; an edict or a command/ declaration from a king/prince/authority requiring obedience. God's Word is a royal mandate...an edict...that requires the obedience from everything that is under His authority. Think about that for a moment...God has authority over ALL things, visible or invisible therefore all things are required to obey Him.

Verse 7 “So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a [thundering] noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone.” The word “noise” is from an unused root word meaning “to call aloud” or “a voice”. The word used for “rattling” means noise or tumult (like that of chariots). 

Ezekiel described the noise he heard very similar to the way the voice of God has been described in other parts of the Bible. His voice is described as “...a loud noise...” “...a thundering, or thunders...” “...a sound of many waters...” which resembles the sound of chariots. As Ezekiel repeated the very words that God had given him...the loud noise began....God echoed the words Ezekiel spoke! The rumbling noise was the voice of God declaring His Royal Mandate which requires nothing less than swift obedience. As a result, the scattered bones gathered with the bones from the original skeleton and muscle formed on the skeletons and skin covered them. Essentially, that which was not became that which was spoken.

We will revisit the valley next week as there are so many wonderful things to be gleaned from this chapter. The nugget I would like y'all to examine this week is simply this...

His Word is a Royal Edict within His kingdom that requires obedience from all under His authority. He invites each of us to find His promises in His Word and speak them aloud so that He may echo your words in the sound of His voice just as He did with Ezekiel.

Do as Ezekiel did and pray...have a conversation with God; take a walk through His Word, allowing Him to humble your heart so that He will reveal a promise to speak aloud, declaring God's authority over your situation.

Pray – Humble yourself – Receive His Word – Declare His Word

The Mystery of Purpose

Within the words of Romans 8:28 lies a gem; a clue to the mystery that is your purpose in life.

Romans 8:28
So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God’s perfect plan of bringing good into our lives, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his designed purpose.

Did you see it?

We have been called to fulfill His designed purpose. It really isn't our purpose but rather His. His purpose that He designed by weaving every detail of our life together so that it will FIT into His perfect plan. This plan is to bring good into our life. THAT is our purpose...simply put, He is our purpose!

Have you ever thought of it like that? Our life...every detail...is being continually woven together. Therefore, we cannot mess it up because He is continually weaving our actions into His tapestry. His plan for you is perfect and it will fulfill His designed purpose. This way of life is what brings that overwhelming sense of inner peace in spite of the chaos or troubles.

We work in harmony with the Creator as He weaves this tapestry when we understand what this calling (or purpose) is for us in this life of ours. We begin to feel connected to something much greater than our-self and this is precisely when we begin to achieve the most satisfaction.

So then....the question becomes, What is this well designed plan that is continually being woven together to bring good into our life? What is God's designed purpose for me?

For the answer to that, we must go on an expedition. Yes! A journey to explore His Word in search of the clues that He has left for us to find. In the true spirit of any expedition, this will require some research, some digging, some hard work and the resolve to not give up until we find the treasure.

Are you ready to embark on this journey through His Word...your emotions...your beliefs...to uncover the mystery of Purpose?

This journey will require us to adapt our way of thinking to align with the truths that He reveals in His Word. Therefore it is vital to the success of the expedition for each of us to be open and willing to accept what He shows us. This may challenge ideas and/or mind-sets. This may challenge doctrine or traditions that we have been taught through our churches. This will challenge what you believe about yourself.

THAT is what makes for an exciting journey...the willingness to do what it takes to find the treasure!

So let's start by really digging into our first clue, Romans 8:28. This first clue tells us what God says our purpose is in His world. Read that again...the first challenge is to accept that this is God's plan for us. We may have our own ideas of what we should be doing and even what we want to be doing...and that is okay if you simply wish to exist in life. However, the point of this expedition is to find PURPOSE for your life.

His purpose for the life He created as an integral part of His world. He is the master craftsman. Romans 8 tells us that God is constantly weaving together every detail of our life...EVERY detail. Why is He doing this? He masterfully takes each detail and weaves it together with the other strands (the details of the lives of others) until it fits perfectly into His plan. This plan of His is the one that brings good into your life. That is a promise to those who are willing to say ”...not my way/will but Yours God”.

Romans 8:28 is your invitation to embark on a wild ride...an exciting journey...an expedition of epic proportion!

This is the way of Green Gumball Faith.