Live Before You Die - Study Series
But I’m Waiting on the Lord (Part 2)
Chapter 14 Enemy #4 The Sedative of Excuses Part 2
This is one of those excuses that sounds so spiritual. Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying there is never a legitimate reason to wait on the Lord. But remember, we use excuses to soothe our own conscience, and the more sincere they sound, the better. Yes, there might be a legitimate time to wait on the Lord, but this can also be, and often is, nothing more than an excuse not to do what we already know to do.
In Exodus 14 the children of Israel had just come out of Egypt and had set their faces toward the Promised Land. But between the land of their captivity and the land of their destiny there was an obstacle that seemed insurmountable—the Red Sea. With no way to cross this body of water, they looked back toward Egypt and saw a cloud of dust stirred up by a thousand horses’ hooves—and it was hurtling toward them. The armies of Pharaoh were on their way to wipe them off the face of the earth. As you can imagine, the children of Israel began to panic. They ran to Moses, their wise leader, for his advice, and these were his instructions:
And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.” —Exodus 14:13–15, nkjv
“Stand still,” Moses said, “and see the salvation of the Lord.” Have you ever heard a sermon about standing still? I know I have. In fact, I have preached on this very subject in the past. And then one day I heard Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke speak about this passage in a way that changed my view forever. He said: “Facing the Red Sea on the one side and Pharaoh’s army on the other, Moses said to the people, ‘Fear ye not, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord’ (v.13). But God was not happy. He gave a counter-command: ‘Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward’ (v. 15, emphasis added). When you hear ‘stand still,’ it’s Rev. Moses, but when you hear, ‘Go forward,’ it is God.”
The word of the Lord is “Go forward!” Begin to move in the direction God is leading. Even God cannot steer a parked car! Get moving for God, and you will find that He will begin to guide your steps and direct your path.
