CHANGE OF DIRECTION
Moses had to forcibly make the Israelites set out from the Sea of Suf.
(Exodus 15:22)
Have you ever had to change your direction? Were you on a route that was taking you nowhere but continued on it? Human beings are strange that way. We do the same thing over and over again, but expect different results; this is a sign of insanity. This statement has been credited to Albert Einstein, although there is no substantive evidence of his having said this. However, this doesn’t diminish the truth of the statement.
The Bible verse, above, is somewhat different than what is found in most English translations. Found in the Hebrew text, the verse indicates to us Israel had a reluctance to go on where God wished them to go. They knew they were heading into complete wilderness. This was desert. No trees. No water. Completely void of everything they had in Egypt.
Still having the minds of slaves, they were used to having everything given to them, even in limited quantities and qualities. They were not used to relying on an invisible God to provide them with everything. How would they survive in the wilderness?
I’m sure we have all been in this situation at least once in our lives. How can we rely on an unseen force to provide for our needs? Isn’t that up to us and our initiative? Oh, how little we have changed, since the time of Moses.
Some time ago, shortly after arriving in Manitoba, I was driving from Winnipeg to Winkler, a distance of about 460 Km. Of course, I used my GPS to guide me. First mistake. As my drive continued and I was directed to leave the main highway, I felt something was wrong. Yet, I continued on the same track. The terrain was becoming more and more rural – acres and acres of open fields and pastures. More than once I told myself ‘I need to get off this track and return to a highway’. However, I continued on, believing the GPS was leading me on the correct path. I knew I was in trouble, when I was finally forced to stop, in the middle of a farmer’s field. The GPS indicated “You have arrived.” Right.
At first, panic set in. I was forced to make a change but, being this was my first time in this strange place, I had no idea where to go. Then I saw a tractor slowly coming toward me. Luckily, this was a friendly farmer who directed me back to the main highway, which led directly to Winkler. I felt so foolish, telling him I was following my GPS. He assured me I wasn’t the only one he had met in his field. And, apparently, I would not be the last.
Have you ever been in a situation where a change of direction was required but you hesitated? Is change an anathema for you?
Adonai Yeshua, the Lord Jesus, warned us we need to change our way of thinking from ourselves being the sole support and giver of what we need. We need to change our thinking to God! He is our sole support and the only One who can provide us with what we need!
Think about it. Who gives the flowers, the trees, the grass everything they need to thrive? Who provides the animal world with its sustenance? Are these resources provided by themselves? Hardly. Doesn’t nature provide these? Nature? Do we really believe there exists some deity called ‘nature’? What evidence do you have of such a deity? Now, let me ask you, what evidence is there of the existence of God?
Let me create a model of our solar system, with each of the planets revolving around the sun. Now, if we were not looking at a model but the actual solar system, assuming we could, and I asked you “Who made this?” What would be your answer – no one? Again, the question, who made all the different solar systems in the universe? Would your answer be the same – no one? Play with that one for awhile.
CONSIDER: Are you hesitating turning to God, the Creator of everything? Are you afraid of letting go of your self-held belief that we are the creator of everything? Are you afraid to change direction, because it challenges everything you currently believe?
ACTION: Suspend judgment, just this once. Take a look around you, in the fields, in the skies, in the waters and decide who or what created everything you see and hear. If you did not create these, who did? Are they the result of a cosmic accident, reverberating throughout time? Really?!?!
PRAY: Abba B’Shamayim, Heavenly Father, I pray You will lead and guide us to You. I pray we come to an understanding of the logic that is You and of the understanding that You created everything for the benefit of Your children. B’Shem Adonai Yeshua, Mashichainu. In the Name of our Messiah, the Lord Jesus, Amen.
May the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob bless you fully and richly.
