#1 - Realize that God means for you to be where you are
#2 - Be more concerned for God's glory than for your relief
#3 - Acknowledge your enemy, but keep your eyes on the Lord
#4 - Pray!
#5 - Stay calm and confident, and give God time to work
#6 - When unsure, just take the next logical step by faith
#7 - Envision God's enveloping presence
#8 - Trust God to deliver in His own unique way
#9 - View your current crisis as a faith builder for the future
#10 - Don't forget to praise Him
Sunday, November 20, 2011 - Evening Reflections
Bro Mike finished up the Red Sea Rules tonight with concluding thoughts on #9 and #10.
#9 - View your current crisis as a faith builder for the future
The LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Thus Israel saw the great work which the LORD had done in Egypt; so the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD and His servant Moses. Exodus 14:30-31
From J. Hudson Taylor: I know He tries me only to increase my faith.
From Robert Morgan: We don't always know why God allows problems, but we know He intends to use them to heighten our maturity and deepen our faith. Trials and troubles are dumbbells and treadmills for the soul.
What exactly is faith?
Elizabeth's words to her cousin Mary in Luke 1:45: "Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished."
And in Romans 4:20-21 Paul says that Abraham "was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised."
And in Acts 27:23 Paul says, "So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he [the angel] told me."
#10 - Don't forget to praise Him
Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and spoke, saying:
I will sing to the LORD,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!
The LORD is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation;
He is my God, and I will praise Him;
My father's God, and I will exalt Him.
Exodus 15:1-2
Maybe we need a crisis.
One of the reasons God puts us in tough situations--or allows us to be there--is to give us the opportunity to sound forth His praises. He expects our gratitude for His deliverances. -- Robert Morgan.
Bro Mike reminded us of chapter 8 in Deuteronomy when Moses gives his instructions to the Israelites and urges them, after they have entered the Promised Land, to remember to praise God for all He did, and was doing, for them.
When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God...be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God...remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth...
Then we turn to Revelation 18-19 and look at what Robert Morgan calls "The Perspective of Prayer."
Revelation 18 describes the destruction of the future city of Babylon, worldwide headquarters of the evil empire of the Antichrist. In one hour, the greatest city in the world will become a smoldering heap of ruins, and those watching from afar will weep and mourn, throwing dust on their heads, crying out, wailing and saying, "Alas, alas, that great city...! For in one hour your judgment has come" (verse 10).
But in chapter 19 the scene sifts to heaven where the angels and elders, witnessing the same event, are exuberant: "I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, 'Alleluia!...Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever! Alleluia! Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both great and small...Alleluia! For the Lord God omnipotent reigns!"
Whether we have an "Alas" or an "Alleluia" depends on our perspective.
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