...The importance of
"Positive Forward Momentum"...
His words gave me pause...I found myself reading and re-reading them, and then following Ann Lamott's rule of thumb -
"Pay attention when your soul leans forward to listen."
Sometimes we are waiting for God to do something BIG in our lives. We all have a Red Sea that we want God to address. We cry out to him as the psalmist did in time past,
"How long, Oh Lord?"...
It occurs to me that God might ask us the same question regarding our stagnation...
"How long will you refuse to humble yourselves before me" (Exodus 10:3)..."How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions?" (Exodus 16:28)..."How long will you treat me with contempt? How long will you refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among you?" (Numbers 14:11)..."How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you?" (Joshua 18:13)..."How long will you mourn?" (1 Samuel 16:1)...
"How long will you waver?" (1 Kings 18:21)
Still we question Him, and still His longsuffering kindness condescends to answer...
...the same answer God gave to Moses as he stood before his Red Sea...
"Why do you cry to Me?
Tell the children of Israel to GO FORWARD."*
Tell the children of Israel to GO FORWARD."*
Moses' deference to God's directive precipitated a great rescue, an unprecidented redemption, a deliverance of miraculous magnitude.
Without a doubt there are seasons of stillness...but there are also times, as Paul prescribed in Philippians 3:13, to reach forward to the things which are ahead...
In times of indecision and inertia in my life, my mom use to tell me, "When you don't know what to do, do the next thing, even if the next thing is just walking the dog or doing the dishes."
Positive Forward Momentum
The smallest effort does not escape heaven's attention.
As we take little steps, God gives ground to step on.
As we move forward in faith, God's faithfulness becomes our footing.
"So the children of Israel went forward into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left."
-Exodus 14:22
"So the children of Israel went forward into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left."
-Exodus 14:22
* Exodus 14:15
10 comments:
Ah, yes! I needed this! I get SO distracted with fretting!
I love Ann Lamott!
Well done, H. Great post. I'm glad I could provide the inspiration that you so eloquently brought to life.
And I love your Mom's quote. That, my friend, is priceless.
<>
You and me both, SL...Are we getting close to the cocktail section of that cookbook of yours?
; )
She's full of 'em, Dan...I could fill an entire post with all the "mom-isms" she's passed down to me...good stuff, Life-101 stuff...huh, THAT would make a good blog name...probably taken, but still, good.
Great post, Hindsfeet!
"Do the next thing" has been a mantra of mine for almost 30 years (a la Elisabeth Elliot :-)). I tell it to my kids all the time. I even cross stitched it, framed it, and hung it on a wall.
...and on that note, TC, time for me to go walk the dogs ; )
Hindsfeet,
You continually amaze me with the deepness of thought present in your beautiful posts. Thank you for sharing your gift with us; it's a constant inspiration.
Linda
the feeling is mutual, Linda : ) "Iron sharpening iron...", eh?
: )
This is a very inspiring, touching and deep post. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers!
Thanks, Javier : ) Come around anytime : )
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