Holy Moses!

I have heard that expression all of my life. You normally say it when you are surprised or shocked. It is like an exclamation mark. And saying Holy Moses when you were younger would only get you a stern look where other curse words could get your mouth washed out with soap. I have tasted Zest. It is not pleasant.

In this post I am going to cut right to the chase. I have tried to think of some funny story from my life to tell you before I jump right into the meat of the post but I don't have one. I guess that is what happens when you go on vacation. You shut up long enough to hear God first hand instead of Him having to waltz you around until you get it. Remember the dancing post? Dancing me can take a while.

I named this post Holy Moses because I am referring to Moses. Okay, I am about 18,000 years behind everyone else and am finally sitting down to watch the mini-series, The Bible. Viva Vacation!

But as I am a visual learner, it is helping me with my understanding of the Bible. Tell me how to do something and you sound like Charlie Brown's teacher. Bible on tape is not my best option. Show me and it is a whole 'nother ballgame. One that I am good at, well Hubby said I need to change that from ball game to shopping spree or cooking show. Hey, after 15 years, he knows me. So watching The Bible has helped me quite a bit. Some people have gone from "You know that dude" to "Oh yes, Jacob".

Thanks to Gregory Peck, I had King David down. Having a tangible picture of the story helps me remember the details. I can close my eyes, see it and the rest falls into place. And this is the picture that has struck me the most from this program... Moses standing at The Red Sea with his people beside him and the full force of the Egyptian Army behind him pursuing him like my dog after the dust mop. I am not being trite with that reference, I promise. My sweet, loving, 6 lbs Yorkshire Terrier who lets you take the food out of her mouth turns into Cujo when you whip that dust mop out. She knows where it is kept and growls when she walks past the closet door. When she gets her death grip on that thing, you can lift her off the ground she is holding on so tight. Anyway...

So there you are, you, your people, a sea in front of you and a "large" army who pretty much wants you dead or as their slaves behind you. Now, I ran screaming like a little girl once when the neighbor's dog chased me while out on a walk. I cannot imagine what my response would be looking back and seeing an entire army with my "Wanted Dead or Alive" Poster swinging from the front of their chariot. I do not think my first reaction would be remain calm.

I have heard this story hundreds of times. I remember Sunday School classes, children's Bible stories and sermons about Moses and the Red Sea but it never fully hit me until I watched The Bible. I fully understood the impact in our modern day lives of Moses and this story.

Imagine standing at the beach, your family beside you and every 80's horror movie character chasing you. And honey, children of the 80's had some good horror movie characters. What would you do? I know what my reaction would be- pray for help from God, look for a boat, prepare to fight, step in front of my family to give them a chance to get away. Now my choice sounds right. I would be praying the entire time I was looking for that boat or swinging that weapon. But it is missing the most valuable piece of information. And it took seeing it in a television show to realize it.

Moses had a sea in front of him, terrified people blaming and crying beside him and an army behind him. He stopped, he prayed and he waited. He did not swing, he did not fight, he did not give up. He waited. He waited when every part of his humanness had to be screaming "DO SOMETHING! WE ARE GOING TO DIE!!" and if his humanness wasn't his people sure were. He waited until he heard from God. "Take your staff to the water and I will part the sea." There was no way that was going to work unless it is absolutely 100% God. It was so absolutely grounded in the faith that God loves us and has us in His hand that it had to be from God. And that is what Moses did and I would say it worked out okay for him.

This is the point in my story where I think God leaned back, propped his feet on his desk, looked at an angel and said "Wait for it..." Because in that moment not only did the light bulb come on but Wrigley Field lit up and I realized how important this story was. Yes, a sea being parted is a HUGE deal. Yes, the Israelite people getting to safety was crazy important. But not as important as the simple lesson it is trying to teach us. I have never had a problem as big as the one facing Moses. I have never had an army chasing me while trying to save my people. But I have had problems in my life that seemed insurmountable. And although I am quick to pray, I am even quicker to try and fix it. Leaving out the crucial element, waiting to hear from God. So now, I have made an even bigger mess and then want to get frustrated with God because He messed it up even more when he fixed it the first time. At least that is how I try to spin it in my mind. He had nothing to do with the outcome, I never let him.

I love Psalm 46: 10-11
10. He says "Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations and I will be exalted on the earth." 11. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

So my lesson would be regardless of the distractions of our lives, when facing the mountain, the sea or whatever problem has you scared, paralyzed, sad or beat down- stop, pray and wait. Wait for God. He will carry you through and you will be a better person for it.

love-j