For an extended period of time now, I have been experiencing some lower back pain and at times it really is very painful. After months of dealing with this issue I finally decided to go to my doctor for x-rays. After x-rays it was determined that everything looked good and there must be some underlying issue not seen by the x-rays that is causing my pain. My doctor suggested that I have an MRI to see if we could determine what was causing my pain.
When I arrived at my MRI appointment I had to wait for a while and another lady came in and was told she would also have to wait. Seems they were running behind for some reason or another. When I was finally called back for my MRI I found out what caused the wait. The lady explained to me in a very stern, almost military voice, that I must be completely still for 30 minutes. She shared with me in a frustrated voice that the reason my appointment was delayed is because everyone ahead of me could not be still. She stated that one person had to reschedule their appointment because they could not be still and another had to be restarted several times. She seemed to be on her last nerve when she got to me.
I almost wanted to panic and run because my first thoughts were that I would not be able to be completely still for 30 minutes. Who could do that? If the others before me struggled so much, what would assure that I would be any different. That is when the Lord showed up! He brought to my mind a scripture from Psalms 46:10- Be still and know that I am God...!!
My fear disappeared and I felt a renewed strength that I could be still for 30 minutes. The lady gave me orders again with that same stern voice and the procedure began. Believe me there were times I wanted to move some part of my body or scratch an itch, but instead of moving I focused on the word that God had given me and trusted him to help me get through this procedure without disrupting this poor ladies day any further. Before I knew it the time of having to be still was over and I had made it without moving, it truly did seem like a miracle to me. When the lady slid me out of the tunnel she started raving about how I had made it and she kept saying over and over...thank you, thank you, thank you! I knew it was a God thing because I am not capable of being still that long on my own. I knew I had been given a victory because I had focused on the scripture that God brought to my mind.
So many times in our lives we are faced with what seems like impossible circumstances and we get discouraged and want to give up or run away. Let's read about a time when the Israelites felt that way too.
Exodus 14 (NIV)
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. 3 Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ 4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites did this.
5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” 6 So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. 7 He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. 8 The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. 9 The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.
10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”
13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 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. 17 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. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.”
19 Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, 20 coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.
23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. 24 During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. 25 He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”
26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” 27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. 28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.
29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30 That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31 And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.
The thing that I find interesting in this scripture is in verses 13 and 14 the Israelites are instructed not to be afraid and to stand firm and be still. And then in the next verse they are told to move. I don't know how much time the Israelites had to be still before they got to move on but I know that it must have been hard for them to follow those instructions just as it was hard for me to believe that I could be still for 30 minutes without moving at all.
God's purpose for having us to be still is so that we will know that HE IS GOD...not us. He was the one fighting for the Israelites. They had no way to defend themselves. They could only cry out to God for his deliverance. And deliverance was what they saw. They were victorious because God showed up and showed out. However if they had not listened to the instructions to be still and then waited for more instructions to know when to move on, they would not have been victorious.
What are you facing right now that seems impossible? Is there a Red Sea ahead of you? Are you crying out to God for his deliverance? I hope you know that God can be trusted and that if you are calling on him, he will show up and protect you and provide for you. He is able and willing. He loves you and has good plans for you. Just remember that you need to BE STILL and KNOW THAT HE IS GOD! He will be glorified in your life if you will follow his instructions. Maybe you need to find some time to BE STILL before him and listen to his instructions. He will tell you when to move on and what to do when you move on. Make sure that you don't get ahead of him or fall behind him. Stay with him and he will deliver you and get you where you need to be, when you need to be there.
I am having to BE STILL and wait on my MRI results. I will not know anything until next week but in the mean time I am praying and asking God to handle this issue in my life. I believe he will because I know that he is my God and he loves me.
If you are his child you can know that he is working in your situation. He is fighting for you. He will defeat your enemies. You will see the victory and you will have no one to give credit to but your God. He is for you not against you. He knows where you are and what you are facing and if you are asking for his help, he is working, he is fighting, he is planning your victory. BE STILL and KNOW THAT HE IS GOD!
