We are living in unprecedented times. Many of us have never experienced a pandemic before that lasted so long, and affecting every country in the world. My grandmother who is turning 102 have said she has never lived through a time like this. We are also experiencing multiple challenges like climate change resulting in horrible forest fires, devastating flooding, and the challenges that are very unfamiliar to us. Political instability in many parts of the world. Tragic human suffering is happening. Trying to cope through these changes can be challenging and overwhelming. Before one problem ends, another one appears. Many are disheartened and feeling hopeless.
What does scripture say about living through challenging times?
Exodus 14:15 “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.”
God’s word is always instructing us to move forward and not stay stuck and worse still, look back.
Exodus 14:6-12
6 So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. 7 He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. 8 The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. 9 The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen[a] and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.
10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”
When we are pressed in from all sides, whether it is the pandemic, or loss of job, or devastating illness, our normal tendency is to look back. But God is always calling us to Move On.
These conditions had pressured the Israelites; they were in a complete panic. God ask them to look up to him.
God’s marching orders for us is to move forward, in faith and to look up to Him.
How do we move forward?
We must break free from our past?
Many times, when life is hard and uncertain, our human tendency is to look back. Looking back gives us a false sense of comfort, and even a false perception of normal. Paul tells us he has not taken hold, yet he presses toward what is ahead. Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.
There are many examples in scripture that show us examples of us looking back with disastrous consequences.
An example is Lot’s wife, God warned Lot not to look back, unfortunately she heed God’s warning and the result is she turned into a pillar of salt.
We are also cautioned about Jesus disciples, when Jesus teaching seems hard, many disciples walked away.
When we move forward with God,
- We Breaks free from our past
- We honour God.
- He takes care of our safety. Peter walking on the water, Peter’s eyes is focused on Jesus, and walks on water safely to Jesus that even defies gravity.
- We have a new destination and we are not stuck.
- We grow in grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ
- He transforms our character.
In the midst of uncertain times, God is breaking through in ways that will amaze us, if we align ourselves to his plan and his leadership. God plan is always for us to move forward in the above areas.
Forget the former things, do not dwell in the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? In the midst of impossibilities, God is making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.
Let’s keep moving forward, Lifespring family.