Methods of Madness

November 20-21

Do you need a reason to rejoice today? You could rent your favorite movie or open up the book of Exodus to chapter 14 and read the Red Sea story! Ah, what a victory! Pharaoh had let the Israelites go from Egypt. Moses, who by this time in his life was used to listening to the Lord and obeying, was comprehending the latest instructions to have the people (Israelites) camp by the sea.

Then the Lord throws in a kicker..."And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them." Say WHAT? Give these people a break Lord! Here is where we have to keep listening to the Lord and thus be able to trust the madness in some of His methods.

He continues: "But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord."

If you don't know the rest of the story, you must read it and thrill in the climaxes like Moses saying to the people: "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today."

Or the Lord saying to Moses: "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen."

Oh, it's all I can do to not type the rest of the story!!!!

The point for us to take away is that God is all about gaining glory and seeing His Kingdom come. He is spurred on by the love He has for us and wanting His best for us and our families. While quite often his methods seem like madness or unjust actions, His ways are not our ways and He sees a MUCH bigger picture than we will ever be able to comprehend this side of heaven.

So the question is....do we trust Him in the madness?

If we are just looking at our needs and not God's plan, we will miss it in a moment.

Many of us are in the midst of what appears to be madness. We are facing unknowns and for some of you those are literally questions like...Will I have a roof over my head? Just this week we've seen God work. Some neighbors lost their home and were moving to an apartment to be told a couple days before they could not come because of their dog. The U-haul was ready to load, but they had no idea where it was going. Then it happened...a place came through which is ten times nicer than the first option. The mother told me, "I just had to trust God."

God is great at showing up and showing off today, just as he did at the Red Sea!