There’s a fascinating story found in the book of Exodus. Moses had finally succeeded in gaining the release of the Jewish people from Pharaoh in Egypt. They were at last on their way to the Promised Land with only one minor hick-up…Pharaoh had changed his mind about letting them go and was now in hot pursuit with his vast army. Holy moley – could this possibly have the makings for a blockbuster movie?
Perhaps even resurrect Charlton Heston to star as our main man! Just a thought ~ Anyway – they found themselves in quite a predicament with Pharaoh’s army to their
rear, mountains on each side, and the Red Sea in front. What to do? Well – they did a very expected thing – they stopped to pray. Great idea, right? Wrong! Who’d have thought?! Here’s how that God conversation went: “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Quit praying and get the people moving! Forward, march!” As Ecclesiastes tells us – there is a time for everything and apparently this was not the time to stop and pray.
It’s interesting that the Australian coat of arms pictures two creatures — the emu, a flightless bird – and the kangaroo. The animals were chosen because they share a common feature that appealed to the Australians – both the emu & kangaroo can only move forward, not back. The emu’s three-toed foot causes it to fall if it tries to move backward, and the kangaroo is prevented from moving back by its large tail.
At one point, the newly released Israelites wanted to go back to Egypt, ready to again become slaves to Pharaoh. I’m sure most had this thought foremost in their minds as they gazed at the Red Sea. But God had not gone to all the trouble of bringing them out of Egypt only to watch an ‘about-face!’ God had big plans for these people – just read the Old Testament.
In the same way, God didn’t save us so we can turn back into the darkness of slavery. As the word tells us – we were once slaves to sin until we accepted Christ as Savor and became born again. And now we have purpose with 2025 being the perfect time to kick it into high gear! This is not the time to coast to the finish line!!
The late Myles Munroe once said: “The value of life is not in its duration, but in its donation. You are not important because of how long you live, you are important because of how effective you live.” We only have one life to live here on earth – the Bible actually calls us a “vapor” in comparison to eternity.
Part of the hitch in our giddy-up is that we’ve become part-time Christ-followers! We have McDonald’s Monday, taco Tuesday, workout Wednesday, tee-ball Thursday, fishing Friday, and yard-sale Saturday…no wonder we’re sleeping in come Sunday morning! We seem to be moving at warp speed in every direction except upward toward things that really count!
There’s a story told about the 19th century agnostic Thomas Huxley. He was in Dublin, Ireland, rushing to catch a train. He climbed into one of Dublin’s famous horse drawn taxis and said to the driver, “Hurry I’m running late…drive fast.” The driver did exactly what he was told. Off they went at a furious pace. Huxley sat back in his seat and closed his eyes, assuming that at this quick pace they would surely get to the train station in plenty of time.
But after a few minutes had passed, Huxley sensed something was very wrong. He
opened his eyes, looked out the window and realized they were going in the opposite direction of the train station. Then he began to wonder, “Did I tell the driver where I wanted to go?” So, thinking that maybe he hadn’t given the driver directions, Huxley called out to him, “Do you know where you’re going?” To which the driver replied, “No, your honor. I don’t. But I’m driving very fast!”
How many of us are moving ‘’very fast’ to _______? To where? Are our lives being invested in any godly ventures? As someone once remarked, “If you don’t change direction, you may end up where you’re headed.” And that would be…?
Bob and Susan Beckett pastor The Dwelling Place City Church at 27100 Girard Street in Hemet, CA. For more information, you may contact them at DPCitychurch.org
