There goes the story of a young boy who came back from Sunday School. When his mother asked him what he had learned during his lesson, the words tumbled out about how the Egyptian army chased after the newly freed Israelite slaves and as they stood before the Red Sea, they could hear the thundering hooves of the invincible Egyptian calvary. “And then suddenly, there were submarines that whisked the Israelites away to safety. Moses then radioed headquarters for reinforcements. The bombers then blew up the bridge, and all the Israelites were saved.”
Needless to say, the mother was quite alarmed. “Is this what your teacher taught you? The little boy quipped and said Mom,” No, Mom! But if I told it the way the teacher did, you’d never believe it!”
I often feel like that little boy, wondering if I can take the Lord at His Word or if I should embellish the truth.
Did the lions really not harm Daniel?
Did the sun actually stand still?
Did the oil and the flour not run out?
Did a big fish actually swallow Jonah?
Did the lame walk, and did the deaf hear?
Did the water really turn to wine?
Did the chains fall off as praise rose?
Did the dead come to life?
Will He keep His Word to me? Will His promises come to pass? Will He remember my sins no more? Is His love from everlasting unto everlasting?
So often, we only have a limited tunnel vision of what we can see in the natural… the limitedness of our power, the restrictions of our reach, the smallness of our might, so much so that we fail to see the almightiness of His power, the grandeur of His promises or realise for ourselves that God is for us or who God is.
Yet each of us has experienced supernatural interventions, divine protection, unmerited favour, timely provision, miraculous healing, the unbelievable goodness of God, the reality of His outstretched arm, the mercies that are new every morning, and His love that gives us life.
Yet, we doubt that we have faith that can move mountains. We worry when we are called to rest in Him. We disbelieve when we are called to believe, as if our prayers were already answered. We deny when we should be shouting on the rooftops. We withhold when we should be pouring out. We step back when we should be stepping out. We scamper when we should be still.
We panic when we should be praying.
We take our eyes off the one who promised us and trust in ourselves, mere specks of dust.
The question that I ask myself is this: Am I willing to cry out to the Lord? Am I willing to take the Lord God at His Word and rest in His promises? Am I able to believe He can and will do it for us again? Am I able to believe that the God of the Bible is real and His Word is true?
Or am I looking for reinforcements elsewhere?
The Bible reminds me: "As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him." Psalm 18:30
I pray that I will learn to rest in Him and Him alone and truly take Him at His Word.
Photo by Jessica Mangano on Unsplash
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