Skip to main content

The Pharaoh And The Deep Red Sea


          As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long. Where is your God?” These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng.
          Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, My Savior and my God.
          My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep
    in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life.
          I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?” My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
          Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. (Psalm 42)

          Yesterday, a friend shared a meme telling us that our emotions are valid. What I’ve been posting over the past few days may be taken by some to be saying, “Don’t Feel!” That’s not what I’m trying to tell you at all. Our feelings communicate important information to us. The problem is, our response to those feelings tends to be to focus on, wallow in, or even worship the feelings rather than to turn to God. They aren’t necessarily evil in and of themselves, but they are used either to separate us from God or to draw us to Him. Emotions make good messengers, but bad masters. Unfortunately, being fallen humans, we are more likely to be separated. We have to work at their drawing us closer, as David did in today’s passage.
          Last night was a tough time for me. I went to bed weeping, overwhelmed with uncertainty, sorrowing over my circumstances, and crying out to God in far less poetic terms than David did. There are so many negatives right now. Everything I need to do and want to do not only costs money but seems to require that I leave home to get stuff. I want to be helpful in my community in this time of difficulty, but since I got home from Florida a week ago, I’m supposed to be staying away from people for at least another week, and that takes me back to the issue of everything I want and need to do requires that I leave home. I wanted to get a job this summer – not likely. My book is getting ready to hit the market, and I should be going to libraries and bookstores in Cleveland, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Erie (at least!) to market it, except there are no libraries or bookstores in those places right now. Somehow, libraries aren’t seen as essential, but they don’t know how essential they are to me. Roadblock after roadblock. I feel like the Israelites caught between the Pharaoh and the deep Red Sea (OK, I know it’s not really that deep, but I’m trying to parallel “Caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.” It’s a writer thing.)
          Especially since I’m writing this series about spiritual warfare, I knew I had to take it all to God. This morning is better. Sleep does that sometimes. While walking Grace, I usually pick up  OPT (Other people’s trash.) I wash my hands when I get home, but this morning, I struggled with that being all I can do right now. Then, I saw a car coming toward me and decided it was time to step out of my comfort zone. I slapped something resembling a smile on my face and waved. I kept waving as other cars went by. I don’t know if they noticed me. I couldn’t see if they waved or smiled back, but that doesn’t matter. I gave them a second of human contact.
          When I got home, I decided to work on the driveway. Over the winter spruce needles and cones, leaves, and other debris gets caught in weeds that grow in the cracks in the concrete and along the fence. I got it raked into a pile and filled one garbage can with it – then thought to take pictures. (Why can I never remember to take before pictures?) Once I started taking pictures, it came to mind that it would be interesting to do a plague photo diary of a “Nobody.” And, it’d be nice to do a garden album, and I need to set up my Birds & Beasts album for the year. So I took lots of photos, and I’ll be posting them shortly.
          This morning, I know that God is working on something in my life through this summer (and beyond.) I know that I’m these small things I’m doing mean next to nothing, and everything. I know that I can either wallow in grief about freedom lost and accomplishment denied, or I can do what I can and watch God accomplish what I can’t. I can either surrender to sadness, or accept it, deal with it gently, and move on.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen To Him

              The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him . (Deuteronomy 18:15)           Today, we switch from Jesus’ claims of “I am” to prophecies made about Him. My Bible platform is starting in Deuteronomy. I’d start in Genesis, where we would learn that the one who would save us would be a descendant of Eve (Genesis 3:15), of Noah (by default), Abram and Sara(Genesis 12:1-3). Isaac (Genesis 17:19), Jacob (Genesis 25:23), Judah (Genesis 29:8), and David (II Samuel 7:12-16). There were also references to a new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:22-32). In addition, there were prophecies about when and where the prophet/Messiah would be born and what would happen to him.           Of course, naysayers will claim that Jesus’ life was retrofitted or reverse enginee...
Post a Comment
Read more