God’s will

When God says, “I got this”

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. Exodus 14:14

I have to admit that I’m not well versed in the Old Testament. As a result, I miss some good stuff. I had actually never heard this verse until my friend, Paul, brought it to my attention. Here’s a little background information on it. During Exodus 14, Moses has led Israel out of Egypt. However, they are trapped between the Red Sea and the Egyptian army. Basically, the Israelites are freaking out, but then Moses tells them, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still”. The Red Sea is parted; the Israelites crossed; the Egyptians drowned.

Some interesting tidbits: God could have parted the sea all by Himself, but He used Moses to part the sea. Also, God didn’t simply teleport the whole nation of Israel across the sea. They had to pack up their belongings and cross themselves. Therefore, Moses and the Israelites had some responsibility to make the plan work.

There’s an old joke that goes like this: a man is drowning in the middle of the ocean. Another man comes by in a fishing boat and offers help, but the drowning man says, “No, my Lord will save me”. Then a man comes by in a yacht and offers help, but the drowning man says, “No, my Lord will save me”. Then a helicopter comes by and lowers a rope to the drowning man, but he says, “No thanks. My Lord will save me”. The man drowns. He goes to heaven, and he asks God, “Why didn’t you save me?” God responds, “I tried. I sent you two boats and a helicopter.”

So, yes, we have a responsibility to make the plans for our lives work. We have to prepare for the future. We have to save money for retirement. We have to love our spouses and raise our kids the best way we know how. But there’s a bigger lesson here-an opposite lesson. I think, as Americans, our “can do” spirit sometimes works against us. We drive ourselves crazy trying to control the plan. We become consumed saving money for retirement. We become consumed trying to control everything our spouses or kids do. We basically become consumed trying to control the plans for our lives, when we were never meant to have that much control. In Exodus 14:14, God pretty much says, “I GOT THIS”.

So, if you’re like me, and you’re starting to realize that God means it, when He says, “I got this”, one question remains….how do I know when I’ve met my responsibility? In other words, “How do I know when I’ve done all I can do and it’s time to sit back and let God do His thing?” It’s tough, and I don’t always get it right. But you have to pray and wait for God to tell you. If ask you God for an answer, He’ll respond. He may tell you in a quiet voice. He may tell you through close, Christian friend. He may tell you through a Bible verse. Or, He may tell you in some other way, but rest assured, He will tell you.

Therefore, in summary, do your part. Let God do the rest. He’s got this.