But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. Exodus 14:16
The Institutional Radio Choir had a popular song when I was a kid. The first line of the song is “When trouble comes, storm begins to rise, hold on and learn to stretch out” The song goes on to encourage the listener to keep on fasting, keep on praying because the race isn’t given to the swift or the strong but to those who endure until the end. As a child I loved the song because the music was so fast it was almost frenetic and it seemed that the choir could barely keep up and the tune was catchy . After I would hear it, it would play in my head for most of the day. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I began to understand the concept of “stretching out”. As Christians, the ability to stretch out through faith is a fundamental component of our relationship with God.
God told Moses to stretch his hand out over the sea and divide it in two. He told Moses that the people would walk, with the sea on either side of them, on dry land. This obviously seriously defied logic. They were being pursued by the King of Egypt and his army…even if the sea parted, the sea bed would not have enough time to dry! Stretching out, however, requires commitment. Even the act of reaching out over the sea, required an action that implied trust. When problems confront us we need to operate with the same type of commitment. After we have fervently prayed and read the word of the Lord and meditated on the scriptures listening for Guidance from the Holy Spirit; we need to stretch out in faith and continue confident that God will act on our behalf.
My prayer for you today is that you would lean into your problems as you have faith that God will take you through them, on dry ground, to the other side.
Deacon Larry Woodard
The Institutional Radio Choir had a popular song when I was a kid. The first line of the song is “When trouble comes, storm begins to rise, hold on and learn to stretch out” The song goes on to encourage the listener to keep on fasting, keep on praying because the race isn’t given to the swift or the strong but to those who endure until the end. As a child I loved the song because the music was so fast it was almost frenetic and it seemed that the choir could barely keep up and the tune was catchy . After I would hear it, it would play in my head for most of the day. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I began to understand the concept of “stretching out”. As Christians, the ability to stretch out through faith is a fundamental component of our relationship with God.
God told Moses to stretch his hand out over the sea and divide it in two. He told Moses that the people would walk, with the sea on either side of them, on dry land. This obviously seriously defied logic. They were being pursued by the King of Egypt and his army…even if the sea parted, the sea bed would not have enough time to dry! Stretching out, however, requires commitment. Even the act of reaching out over the sea, required an action that implied trust. When problems confront us we need to operate with the same type of commitment. After we have fervently prayed and read the word of the Lord and meditated on the scriptures listening for Guidance from the Holy Spirit; we need to stretch out in faith and continue confident that God will act on our behalf.
My prayer for you today is that you would lean into your problems as you have faith that God will take you through them, on dry ground, to the other side.
Deacon Larry Woodard
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