Final Hour Faith

Have you ever been faced with a problem and not know it's outcome or resolve until the very last hour?  The stress and anxiety associated with those events can be torment. But they are critical moments in our lives that define who we are and what we believe by how we respond in that last hour. 

2011 brought a myriad of stressful events that could've easily broken me. All the way up to the final hour of 2011.  There was one particular issue that seemed to back me into, what I called, the "Red Sea". My moment of truth. I felt like Moses with no where to go and the enemy (problem) was closing in fast.  I wondered how Moses must have felt. Overwhelmed? Frustrated? Doubtful? Fearful? Maybe, but what did he do in his final hour? And what did it say about the man he was and what he believed?

I pictured all of the Israelites standing there yelling at Moses for leading them to their death. (Exodus 14:12, They cried, "It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”) This is such a perfect description of the human nature in the midst of crisis. To be fearful and angry. But as I read the story again, I understood the difference between Moses and the Israelites. They were looking back at their enemy and Moses wasn't. He wasn't distracted by the problem because he wasn't looking at it. He was looking at God. (Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”) Wow. That's Faith.

So here I was, still facing my red sea and I knew I had to stop looking at the problem and keep my eyes on God. To wait on Him. His answers are not always what I think or want but I know they are always better and always on time…His time. Sometimes I think God lets us fall on our back to get us to look up. He lets us get to our "red seas", so we can witness His mighty hand do what we could never do and know that He is God. But how many times does He have to do it before we trust Him? I know I don't have the faith that Moses had, but God said it only takes a "mustard-seed" size faith to move mountains. Faith in God, not ourselves. (John 15:5 "apart from me, you can do nothing). 

So, I began to let go of my fear and thank Him for the resolve that was not yet evident and trust Him with whatever happened. I took my eyes off the problem and focused on God. I'm still working on this and I'm amazed at all that God does for me. All of yesterday's worries are now memories. Today is a new day and tomorrow is a gift. I will face more obstacles, but do I really need Him to keep parting seas in order for me to trust Him with my life? I don't want to just have a final hour faith... I want to have faith all the way through it. It's a work in progress.