I’ve found that as my morning goes, so goes the rest of my day. I try to stack the odds in my favor by picking up a steaming hot latte every morning at my favorite coffee shop. This helps.
The coffee shop manager often posts quotes for customers to read while they wait in line. On a morning where I was feeling especially overwhelmed, this quote brought some comic relief: “Hope is that brief, golden moment between when you come up with a solution and when you realize it won’t work.”
God Will Make a Way
I want to always figure things out. Make plans. Manage outcomes. When the unexpected happens I am challenged to remember that God is in control. No problem I face is beyond the scope of his concern—or his ability to bring deliverance. The hard part for me is the waiting. God will make a way, but how? When? Where?
As the Israelites fled the Egyptian army they were constantly asking their leader, Moses, to provide solutions and control outcomes. When a problem was resolved, the people once again had confidence in Moses and faith in God. If negative circumstances were not readily remedied, grumbling resumed and revolt threatened.
At times in my life I have identified with the fears and frustrations experienced by the Israelites. I’ve experienced personal tragedy, serious health problems, and the pressures of planting a church in one of North America’s least churched cities. Confusion comes when the conviction that you are carrying out God’s will for your life collides with Red Sea moments.
God Is Our Dwelling Place
The promises and protection of God transcend the most challenging of circumstances. Psalm 91:9, 10 promises, “If you make the Most High your dwelling—even the lord, who is my refuge—then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.”
The protection of God is not about a particular set of circumstances—good or bad. It’s about your dwelling place. Even for the Israelites, the promised land was only a temporary home. God is trying to teach us that he is our dwelling place, our refuge, our hope. Minor miracles like daily manna and major miracles like Red Sea partings point us toward an ultimate truth—God is our refuge! |L
Claudia Tune lives with her husband Jim in Mississauga, Ontario. Claudia is the Business Manager for Impact Canada, a church planting organization that starts new churches across Canada.
