Have you ever been stuck between a rock and a hard place?

[bluidkiti]

Your Daily Inspiration

Have you ever been stuck between a rock and a hard place? The type of place where what is behind you is as equally horrifying as what is in front of you and you do not know what to do. To go back to where you were would absolutely kill you, but to go forward scares the life out of you. It is the place where you are literally trapped and really cannot fathom moving in either direction. That’s the place I am speaking of.

In Exodus 14:13-15, the Israelite children found themselves in exactly that same spot. They were on their way out of Egypt, but as they were leaving the Egyptians decided to aggressively pursue them. Behind them was their past, which represented inhumane bondage and oppression. If they turned around and walked back to Egypt they would be going back to that very existence. On the other hand, before them was the Red Sea. Moving forward meant almost certain death because there was no conceivable way to swim through all of that water without drowning.

Either way that they looked at their between a rock and hard place situation neither option was good. Both were equally scary. They were essentially trapped on every side, but God. In the face of an unsurmountable obstacle God spoke a word to Moses that changed their whole situation. He instructed him to share three things with His children: Do not be afraid. I will fight this battle for you. Keep moving forward towards the Sea because I am getting ready to do something that you have never seen before.

Beloved, I share with you today that God is saying the same things to us when we find ourselves in these situations. He is instructing us to not be afraid. All we need to do is give our battle to Him and let Him fight it for us. Once we have surrendered it to His care, we do not need to worry about the details. All we need to do is keep moving forward in faith because He has us.

My precious sisters, when it seems as if all hell has broken lose and you are hard-pressed on every side that is when God will do the impossible for you. What looked improbable will become possible, but we must do our part and let Him do His. There are some battles that we face that only God can handle and we show Him that we trust Him with the very fabric of our lives when we give it over to Him and move forward with life. He can and will part a Red Sea in your life and let you walk through on dry land without a hint of danger. That is the God we serve!

So many times, as soon as trouble comes we start trembling or begging it to leave because we’ve made our troubling situation so much bigger than our God. In this passage of scripture the Israelite children did it too, but God reassured them in the midst of their trouble; and so, too, does He encourage you. He promised in Isaiah 43:2 that He will be with us when we pass through the waters; when the rivers try to push us under God is there; when the fires comes He promises that we will be able to walk through them and not be burned. It is because of His promises to us that we should move forward. He has us and will never let us go (Deuteronomy 31:6).

I don’t know about you, but this story encourages my spirit so because I know what it is like to be stuck and afraid to move in either direction. Paralyzed in fear because what I left was as equally as frightening as where I was going, but how grateful I am to God that He knows the path I should take and it is always for my good (Job 23:10, Romans 8:28). Hallelujah! I am grateful that He has and continues instructing me to move forward.

-Nina Fortson

“But Moses answered, “Don’t be afraid! Be brave, and you will see the Lord save you today. These Egyptians will never bother you again. The Lord will fight for you, and you won’t have to do a thing.” The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you keep calling out to me for help? Tell the Israelites to move forward.” Exodus 14:13-15 (CEV)

Loving Father, I thank You that my life is in Your hands and because of that I can always move forward. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, Amen.

Morning Medicine

A Sunday school teacher decided to have her 2nd grade class memorize Psalm 23, one of the most quoted passages in the Bible.

She gave the children a month to learn the chapter.

One little boy was excited about the task, but he just couldn’t memorize the Psalm. Although he practiced and practiced, he could hardly get past the first line.

The day came for the children to recite Psalm 23 before the congregation.

The little boy was nervous. When his turn came, he stepped up to the microphone and proudly said, “The Lord is my Shepherd and that’s all I need to know!”

Sisters In Christ