Exodus chapter fourteen is one of the great chapters in the Bible where the miraculous awesome power of God is put on display. Let me set the stage. Moses and Israel have followed God's leadership out of Egypt and to the Red Sea. Pharaoh and the Egyptian army chase them down with chariots but God holds them back at the Red Sea. In an unbelievable display of might God causes a wind to blow through the Red Sea parting the waters into two huge walls while Israel crosses over to the other side of the sea. When Pharaoh and Egypt are allowed to pursue the walls of water cave in on them drowning all.
[Ex 14:31] When Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and believed in Him and in His servant Moses.
What is ironic is that earlier in that same chapter Israel doubted God as the Egyptian army closed in and they actually wished they could go back and be enslaved again rather than die at the Red Sea. When God came through, as He always does, they believed in Him. One chapter later they doubted God again when they got in the desert and were thirsty. So began a recurring theme among the nation. When God tested their faith they doubted, grumbled, and complained. When God worked they believed in Him.
Trial. Doubt. God's miraculous intervention. Belief. Another trial. More doubt. Another miracle. Belief. This repeated itself over and over again. When they saw God work they believed. During the trials they doubted. Don't followers of Jesus do the same thing today.
Doubt plagues the church today. What are you doubting God to do in your life currently? Is there some trial keeping you up at night and causing you to live in anxiety? When the Lord tests your faith do you trust Him or do you shrink back in unbelief like Israel?
God intentionally led Israel to the Red Sea where there backs were against the wall. It did not make sense. The ominous end looked certain. Israel doubted except for Moses. God told Moses to be still and stand firm and watch His salvation unfold. I bet mouths gaped open when the pillar of fire held the Egyptian army back. I bet they were bewildered when the waters of the sea began to part.
Over the years God has allowed me to see His mighty hand move again and again. Before I saw Him move He tested my faith. I have often recounted that when I left Seminole, TX on July 21, 2011 I had no salary for the new church. I had a few hundred dollars in my pocket and a borrowed r/v to live in on the property of some friends in Paradise. I left Brenda and the three younger boys behind as Taylor and I set out on an adventure.
I had a mixture of emotions when I drove out of Gaines County headed to Wise County. I was excited to see what God would do. There was no turning back. I also had some anxiety about starting a new church with no guarantees.
I determined from the beginning I would not tell the church or even Brenda back in Seminole of my financial needs. I would trust God day by day for His provision. Within a couple of weeks the cash in my pocket started running low. Secretly I prayed and waited. On that first Sunday Faith Community Church met in the daycare I tithed on the money I left Seminole with in my pocket. By most means it was not a large sum of money but it was sacrifice.
I did so on in faith. With my funds dwindling I waited on God as the next week started. Then God came through. Someone from east Texas sent me a $500.00 check. Seeing is believing. God met our need without me communicating those needs to anyone including my wife. He parted the Red Sea of our financial needs again and again over the past two years. People from Seminole, TX sent us over $36,000 over the course of the last two years. Every time when the money ran low another gift would show up in the mail. Every time we would see we kept believing.
One time a man drove down from Seminole to hand deliver $7,000 to us given by people who love God and who love the Edwards family. Brenda and I sat dumbfounded and bewildered by the faithfulness of God and His people. We saw and we believed. Another time Brenda's car needed some major repairs. That same man from Seminole who delivered the $7,000 sent us a check for $5,000 at that exact time. The repairs on her car cost over $3,000. Once again we saw God work and believed. God used others to send a $100 here and a $1,000 there. We have not gone without. Our lifestyle has remained largely the same because God has come through. School supplies. Clothes. Tanks of gas. House payments back in Seminole. All provided.
One Sunday the treasurer at Faith Community called me to tell me the church could not pay my salary for the offerings were so low. My heart sunk. My family laid it all on the line to start the church and it felt like God had failed me. I doubted. The very next day we received a check in the mail for $2,000. God came through once again. Instead of believing I lived in doubt wondering what would happen the next time I was supposed to get paid. I took my eyes off God and put them on men. Bad mistake. The long story. I have never missed another paycheck. I have not missed any meals. My bills have all been paid. Today I live in a spacious home and when I look back over what God has done over the past two years I am awed. I do believe. I have seen God work time and time again and I believe.
When I went to have my eyes examined shock gripped my soul when I learned I had diabetes. Two different times I could not read the last line on my exam with my left eye at two different doctor's offices. I could make out the first few letters but then the letters blurred and I could not read them.
Yesterday I went to see a new retina doctor. I had to take the same exam. They covered my left eye and asked me to read the lowest line I could read. I read the last line with ease. Then they asked me to cover my right eye and do the same. I remember thinking this is where the trouble starts. One by one I saw and read every letter or number off to the nurse. It shocked me. Even more so when the nurse said you have 20/20 vision from a distance. I sat in that chair thinking, "God you healed my eye. You are healing me." While the nurse worked I prayed this, "God you are healer. You can heal my eye by the touch of your hand. You can restore my sight where I do not have to have laser surgery. You can heal my eye with surgery. Either way I am going to trust you. I am going to praise you. Right now in this chair I worship you."
Soon the doctor came in. His diagnosis? No surgery. He said we caught it early and wants to wait to see what happens over the next two months with my dietary changes. I sat listening in silent praise giving thanks to God. I can honestly say that I have trusted God with my vision from the first day I learned I had a problem. At this point I still need glasses to read. God can heal that as well or I can see through glasses. Either way I trust Him. Seeing is believing.
In my case I mean that literally. Seeing on that eye exam and reading everything on that last line with my left eye, when just two weeks ago I could not, is believing God has touched my eye.
There will be future trials of faith. I will be tested again and again. We already have been since moving into this house but we have also watched God be faithful over and over again. We have watched God work through my vision. I know God touched me. There is no other explanation. I asked God for my sight to keep reading, preaching, and writing. God worked powerfully. I see and I believe.
I pray each of you reading this will see the powerful hand of God moving in your life and in your circumstances. I pray in the trials you trust Him to come through for you. Each time you see God be faithful on your behalf I pray your faith is strengthened for the next trial. Seeing is believing.
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