Simple Is Better – When Blessings Feel Evasive

Exodus 14:13-14 – But Moses answered, “Don’t be afraid! Stand still and you will see the Lord save you today. You will never see these Egyptians again after today. You only need to remain calm; the Lord will fight for you.”

Stand still. Remain calm. The Lord is with you. 

Wow. Great advice. And yet, so hard to do.

Sometimes, these are the words we need to hear.

As I’ve sat with a family going through a terribly difficult situation the last couple of days, these words have come back to me. 

Stand still. Remain calm. The Lord is with you. 

Hubby Rick and I know we are very blessed people. We preach it. We believe it. We really, really try to live it.

Yet, there are those one or two places in our lives that we wish were different. Quite honestly, these “places” are relationships with people we dearly love. We have struggled with these relationships. We have prayed over and around and through them. Some of the challenges with the underlying issues are not within our control. We struggle with knowing what to do. When do we step in? When do we hold? When do we simply keep on praying?

And we are not the only people who struggle with these big questions. At some point, don’t we all have moments when there are no easy answers? When questions loom larger than answers? When situations feel larger than life and what to do feels overwhelming?

As a pastor, people come to me and asked for advice and insights when they are in the thick of a relationship that is struggling. I have tried to listen and hear. When asked, I’ve gently suggested options. I also know that, at times, I’ve probably given really bad advice. When I should have just listened and not said anything. 

When things feel outside of our control, especially with relationships, we often feel hopeless. Yes, can try and address the situation. Yes, we can bath it in prayer. Yes, we will wait and hope and dream that a situation will be different. But a changed relationship, so evasive, remains more of a challenge than a blessing.

This is when this statement can sometimes be helpful: How easy it is to mishandle blessings that come too easy or too quickly.

Stand still. Remain calm. The Lord is with you. 

This is the advice Moses gave the Israelites as they were scurrying away from Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Pharaoh told the Israelites to leave Egypt. He’d had enough of the 10 plagues. With sender’s remorse, Pharaoh realized he had lost his worker bees. The people who actually did all the manual labor to build those beautiful wonders in Egypt WERE GONE! He needed them back. Now.

Pharaoh and his army went after the Israelites. The gap was closing in. The Israelites feared they would die in the desert. And Moses speaks.

Stand still. Remain calm. The Lord will fight for YOU.

Folks: I don’t know what disappointment you may be experiencing in your life today. Maybe no one knows, other than you. But God knows. God cares. God hears your pleadings and is just as disappointed as you are. God fights for YOU.

As you think about a challenge in your life, it’s easy to wonder: Will this particular blessing ever arrive? Will it look different from what you would prefer? Does your vision of the blessing need to shift?

As I work through these questions and thoughts with the situations in my life that I cannot control, I encourage you. Stand still. Remain calm. The Lord is with You. Amen.

Blessings –

Dianne

Dear God – You know all the details of whatever situation may be weighing us down today. You know our desire to have this challenge turned into a blessing. Help us to simply stand still. Remain calm. Keep our faith in You. Amen.

Looking for a bit of daily inspiration? Check out my daily affirmation posts on Facebook and Instagram (Dianne Deaton Vielhuber and Simple Words of Faith.) 

Dianne’s Upcoming Unraveling Together Book Events:

Sat., July 25 – Main Street Books Event, Reedsburg, WI, 1-3 PM