This little Problem, THat Big God.

Exodus 14

Kristel Mathis

In Exodus Chapter 14, An army of Egyptians are coming for Moses and the Children of Israel, who at the time are very afraid and they are crying out to the Lord and question Moses’s decision. One question they ask is why would Moses lead them into the wilderness to die and it would have just been better to be a servant of the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness. They had some valid concerns, this was unknown territory to the children of Israel and I probably would have  questioned Moses and even probably went in another direction. 

Anywho, Moses replies 

“Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation[b] of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold[c] your peace.”

A Pretty Powerful Promise from the Lord who has never lost a battle. It should've been comforting words to the Children of Israel. But they need action to back up those words. The Lord said to Moses “Why are you crying to me?” This is what I need you to do...“Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.”  Moses moved and governed himself accordingly with no questions, no grumbling, or whining. Moses did exactly what He was instructed to do, no extra stuff. And yes, the Egyptians were attempting to keep hot on their trail and follow them. But the wheels start falling off because the Lord’s promise was put into action. So much so that the Egyptians recognize the promise. The Lord was fighting for the Children of Israel. The Enemy recognized the power of the Lord’s promise and began to fall back. The Children of Israel walked through a sea of water on dry land with water on the left of them and water on the right of them with Egyptians on their tail... WHAT???? The Lord didn’t remove the problem that Moses and the Children of Israel He took them through the wilderness, and the sea.

 Sometimes God won’t remove the problem He will take us through the obstacles. You are wondering how you are going to get through this problem. Why hasn't God just removed the person or the situation? Well Friend, He wants the glory. The enemy will recognize that He is Lord, the people around you will recognize that He is Lord and most importantly YOU WILL RECOGNIZE THAT HE IS LORD. The Lord will ALWAYS put his promise into action. You have to be still and see the salvation of the Lord. Remember to take instructions from GOD! Hearing God simply happens. HEARING GOD SIMPLY HAPPENS! But LISTENING to God is an ACT, it requires for you to focus, process, and understand what He wants you to do.  The Lord always has a solution when a problem arises. HE will always rescue you. HE WILL ALWAYS GET THE GLORY!

In the Midst of the Storm:

Straining to hear God’s Voice!

John 10:27

It’s Sunday morning, one of my favorite days of the week. Why? Its my opportunity to engage in corporate worship with my family and friends. A day to relax, eat and nap well. It’s definitely my day of rest. Well this Sunday and a few other Sundays have been different. We are still Sheltered in Place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, everything has been changed to better serve our church community. Church is not canceled; it has temporarily changed for a season. I don’t like it and I am trying to adjust the best way I can. Anywho, Today, well this particular Sunday a huge storm was headed this way. The sky had gotten extremely dark, winds had picked up outside and well, I was in the bed with my computer watching worship service. As soon as my Pastor got up to speak, the rain began. I turned up the volume so that I could hear him a little bit better. Hail and heavier rain begins to fall. I adjust the volume again. Still couldn’t hear Pastor Chris! By this time the rain and hail was coming down so hard and loud that He was whispering into the microphone. By this time, I had had enough and grabbed my earphones, inserted them in the computer and my ears! I could suddenly hear his voice loud and clear. The storm was a distant noise. I could focus on the message in the midst of the storm.

 Some lives are being tossed around during this storm. Some of us are just experiencing rain, while others are enduring hail, high winds, and heavy rain. It's getting hard to hear God’s voice over the noise of the storm. The news, the government,  the opinions, the offers of help seem to swallow the sound of God’s voice. And if you are like me, I get nervous when I can’t hear God’s voice while in the midst of the storm. If I could be honest it creates anxiety and fear. I can’t operate like this. Go ahead and be honest with yourself, you can’t either. My point of this blog is two things. 1. Shelter in the time of a storm is a constant reminder that God still provides safety and shelter. You are covered. 2. When things are loud and you can’t hear him draw closer to him and as He promised He would draw close to us. I know first hand at times it’s very hard to hear God’s voice, because sometimes the loud noises create fear, distractions and can drown out the quiet voice that brings peace, direction, and soothes our souls. My prayer is that you hear God’s voice in the midst of this storm.  Remember that He is with us every step away and we can call on him. Keep your earplugs close by, (your bible, prayer, or worship music) Drown out the noise of this storm and focus on God!   

Scripture:

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

John 10:27

Written: Kristel Dion

www.kristeldion.com

LEt HIm Make the Change

Psalm 147:3

Kristel D Mathis

So, its been a typical work week at the salon. It's been pretty cool. This morning I woke up thinking about my daily task I need to accomplish in order to have a successful weekend in business. One essential is clean towels a major necessity in my business, who wants to come to the salon and be wet the entire service? No one.

I pull out my change container and realize that I only have $1.75 in quarters. Well that's no good it cost an insanely $2.00 to wash and all the other coins in the container are pennies... great. I go to my wallet and open it up and there it was THAT quarter. THAT quarter I have been carrying around in my purse because a while back when I needed change I went to the salon's vending machine, got my quarters, and I got this damaged quarter that would not go into the washing machine coin receiver. I have forced it time and time and again and it doesn't work, it won't fit, it's broken. So I placed the quarter in my wallet in hopes to use it at a store or something because the quarter still hold the value of a regular, quarter its just damaged and unusable for the washing machine.

Pay attention friend. So this morning, I had no other quarters not even nickels, and dimes to trade in for a better quarter. Uhh... my towel are wet and I need this coin. God says in his still voice. "Take the coin back to the machine you got it from and place it back in the machine." So I excused myself from my client and go to the vending machine, place the warped coin in the machine,(it actually went in with no problem) pressed the returned change and got a new coin. I walked over to the wash room placed my restored quarter in and begin to dry my towels. The task was complete and my clients will have nice clean towels.

Friend, sometimes God will give you a "damaged quarter" whether it be a friend, your boss, your wife, your husband, someone in your ministry. They are valuable in spite of being damaged and we hold onto to them because of what value we know they possess and sadly they are no use for the season that God has us in and it can weigh us down. But it's not until we give them back to God so that they can be restored so they can be used for the Kingdom.

 1.)Take the time to lay your broken love ones or colleagues at the feet of God. Pray over their lives and ask God to restore them, so they can be used at the appropriate point and time.

2.) Let go of what you can't change. The only way someone can be restored is if we surrender them to God. We can not carry them around in hopes that they can be used at any given point and time.

3.  You don't know how God can use them, its not up to you its up to him. Your job is to love them where they are at and remind them of  how God values and loves them.