Look Up

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Thank you. Janice Austin Bates

How many times have you been going through a rough time in your life and have prayed to God to just fix the problem? Sometimes you receive a miracle, but other times it feels like your prayers are falling on deaf ears.

Why is it that sometimes God takes the problem away, and yet other times He just doesn’t seem to care? He is God, our Heavenly Father. Aren’t father’s supposed to fix their children’s problems for them?

The answer is no. Fixing the problem is a gift, not the everyday answer.

When the children of Israel were fleeing for their lives from the Egyptians, they suddenly found themselves standing at the edge of the Red Sea. They were trapped. The Red Sea was in front of them and an army ready to drag them back into captivity, or kill them, was right behind them. Where was God when they needed Him? Why had He allowed this to happen?

The Israelites were scared and angry and blaming God for everything. They were ready and willing to go back to Egypt and live as slaves. After everything God had done and shown them to get them free, they were mad at Him, and did not trust Him.

God could have just picked them all up and set them down on the other side of the sea. Problem solved. So why didn’t He?

If you are a parent you know that if you do everything for your child they will not learn. If you always carry them they will never walk, much less run. Your job is to show them how to do things, help them when they need it, and do it for them when they cannot do it for themselves.

As they grow you should see them becoming more and more self-sufficient and independent. When they are strong, loving, God fearing adults, you can look at them and know you did your job well.

If the children of Israel had been paying attention like the should have, they would have realized the cloud above them by day, and the fire above them by night was proof God was with them.

So why didn’t God miraculously transport them to the far side of the sea where the army couldn’t reach them? Because God parted the water and had them walk across. As they walked on dry land they saw the water walled up on each side of them. They could not help but know that God was doing this. There was no other explanation. Neither did they have to walk through the mud to get to the other side. God provided them with dry land, but they had to do the walking.

As they looked back they saw Pharoah’s army had followed them into the sea. That frightened them also, but then they watched as God allowed the water to rush back in. The entire army drowned. God was in control the whole time. If they had been looking up more, they would have realized the cloud and fire were always there. God never left them or forsook them. Walking through the Red Sea was simply a time of growth and learning to trust God.

So what kind of troubles are you going through? Whether it is physical, financial, a relationship or whatever it is, are you asking God to take the problem away? That might not be what is best for you. When it feels like God doesn’t hear you, or care about you, maybe He is having you walk through the sea. When you do, you will come out on the other side a stronger Christian.

In your darkest hours don’t ask God to take it all away. That is the prayer that seems natural to us. Instead, ask God to help you through it. Let Him decide when to carry you or walk by your side holding your hand. He knows what you need. When your heart is heavy and your life is hard look up. You will see a cloud above you in the day, and a fire above you in the night.

You will never find God by looking down. Look up. The cloud and the fire are there. They are always there. You just have to look up to see them.

Think about it.