the Lord will fight for you
There is nowhere else on Earth that I feel closer to God than in the middle of a lake. It doesn't matter which lake. An ocean would probably have the same effect if I ever make my way to one of them. When I swim out past the noise and congestion of the sandy beach, to a place where the sandcastles are mere dots in the distance, I can nearly feel my body give a sigh of relief. Two weekends ago, my little family and my parents went camping for a night (yes, one night - we're easing my mom back into camping slowly :) and we spent the bulk of our time at the beach. Between their grandparents and dad, my young daughters were well taken care of while I swam off to meet with God.
I've always loved the water. Call me crazy, but coldness, slime, and large rocks don't scare me off easily. As I made my way out past the few other people brave enough to test the water, stress seemed to float down into the water. I filled my lungs with a deep breath of fresh air and submerged myself; swimming as fast and as far as I could go with that single breath. Once I couldn't hold it any longer, I came up for air, and more clearly than I've felt anything lately, a verse from Exodus came to mind:
"The Lord will fight for you; you need only to BE STILL" (Exodus 14:14, NIV)
Now, since honesty is the goal here, I will tell you that I am no great Scripture memorizer. Its something that I know God is calling me to work on. He wants me to be able to recall promises and truths that are woven through Scripture. But this verse - this is one that I have always loved, yet had somehow forgotten.
I know that it was God that brought that verse to mind out on the lake there. He knew that I needed to be reminded that I can't do things all on my own. In what has been a stretching and painful season of life, He needed to remind me of His unfailing love and continual presence.That he is there fighting for me. Fighting for my family and for my faith. And just like I needed to come up for air from the water, He needed to remind me to draw my strength from Him, It has been so easy for me to try with all my might to do all the things on all the lists and take care of my little people without considering that God wants to help me through these exhausting (wonderfully exhausting) days. Oh, how I need Him. More with each passing day, I am finding. I am thankful to God for this reminder - and I know that he will have to keep reminding my stubborn self again and again and again. So lean on Him. I'm trying so desperately to trust God's heart, even when I can't see His hand sometimes.
I've always loved the water. Call me crazy, but coldness, slime, and large rocks don't scare me off easily. As I made my way out past the few other people brave enough to test the water, stress seemed to float down into the water. I filled my lungs with a deep breath of fresh air and submerged myself; swimming as fast and as far as I could go with that single breath. Once I couldn't hold it any longer, I came up for air, and more clearly than I've felt anything lately, a verse from Exodus came to mind:
"The Lord will fight for you; you need only to BE STILL" (Exodus 14:14, NIV)
Now, since honesty is the goal here, I will tell you that I am no great Scripture memorizer. Its something that I know God is calling me to work on. He wants me to be able to recall promises and truths that are woven through Scripture. But this verse - this is one that I have always loved, yet had somehow forgotten.
I know that it was God that brought that verse to mind out on the lake there. He knew that I needed to be reminded that I can't do things all on my own. In what has been a stretching and painful season of life, He needed to remind me of His unfailing love and continual presence.That he is there fighting for me. Fighting for my family and for my faith. And just like I needed to come up for air from the water, He needed to remind me to draw my strength from Him, It has been so easy for me to try with all my might to do all the things on all the lists and take care of my little people without considering that God wants to help me through these exhausting (wonderfully exhausting) days. Oh, how I need Him. More with each passing day, I am finding. I am thankful to God for this reminder - and I know that he will have to keep reminding my stubborn self again and again and again. So lean on Him. I'm trying so desperately to trust God's heart, even when I can't see His hand sometimes.
Comments
Post a Comment