Psalm 68:7-10, “God, when you took the lead with your people, when you marched out into the wild, Earth shook, sky broke out in a sweat; God was on the march. Even Sinai trembled at the sight of GOD ON THE MOVE, at the sight of Israel’s God. You pour out rain in buckets, O God; thorn and cactus become an oasis For your people to camp in and enjoy. You set them up in business; they went from rags to riches.” (MSG)
Narnia was a mythical land, created by C. S. Lewis, where the animals talk and where four children experience this series of incredible adventures. The seven-part series, “The Chronicles of Narnia,” have long fascinated children and adults alike.
And then came Disney’s movie version of the first Narnia story, “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,” and it was a blockbuster. In the story, the wardrobe is the closet through which the children discover Narnia. The witch is the evil ruler of the land. She’s creating an endless winter where it is “always winter but never Christmas.” And the lion is Aslan, the great son of the Emperor from across the sea. He is, in C. S. Lewis’ imagery, the Christ-figure of Narnia. As the children begin to experience the icy and dangerous world that Narnia has become under an evil ruler, one of the animals announces that there is hope on the horizon. Hope turns out to be five words: “ASLAN IS ON THE MOVE“. Indeed, he was, and Narnia would soon be set free because of it!
Five words may explain the strange stirring that you’ve been feeling in your spirit lately. Five words may mean hope for you. And what are those five words? “GOD IS ON THE MOVE!”
The One of whom the Bible says: “…the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has Overcome and Conquered…” (Revelation 5:5 AMP). And today, I’ve come to encourage you to know, that GOD IS ON THE MOVE in your personal life as well! And His move is about to set you free!
What He’s moving to do, is pictured in Exodus 3:7-10. God is speaking to Moses from an amazing burning bush in the wilderness. And He says, “…I have in fact seen the affliction (suffering, desolation) of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters (oppressors); for I know their pain and suffering. SO I HAVE COME DOWN TO RESCUE THEM FROM THE HAND (POWER) OF THE EGYPTIANS, and to bring them up from that land to a land [that is] good and spacious, to a land flowing with milk and honey [a land of plenty]—to the place of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. Now, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me; and I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them.” (AMP)
And that’s exactly what God is doing in your life as well! He’s heard your cry, plea, suffering, pain, depression, discouragement, hurt, loneliness, abandonment, abuse, and HE’S ON THE MOVE to Get to You So He Can Rescue You From What’s Holding You in Bondage!
Truth be told, many of us feel this way. Feel as though we’ve been locked up in this prison of pain for so long, and we’ve cried out to God for so long, and nothing has happened for so long, and therefore we tend to be deceived into thinking that God has forgotten to come and see about us. We look around us and it appears as if the Hand of the Lord is moving so graciously and quickly in the lives of others, but when it comes to OUR personal life, it’s like He’s allergic and can’t come near!
However, before you beat up on yourself, I want you to know that your feelings are not crazy, sinful, or outrageous, they are simply real! And if you ever take a moment to quietly sit and read through the Psalms you will be tremendously amazed by the emotions of David. He was indeed a man after God’s own heart, but he certainly didn’t hide his heart or his feelings from God either and neither should you. It takes nothing away from you as a Child of God, to cry out in desperation for your Father’s help. After all, isn’t that what natural children do…naturally? As soon as a child is in pain, hurting, suffering or scared, be it mom or dad, but one of their parents is guaranteed to hear and heed their holler for help! Therefore, this is your reminder that it’s alright to be real, even if that “real” happens to be “real” hurt, real angry, real miserable, real lost and real confused. No matter how much it hurts, or how bad it hurts, or how long it’s been hurting, God wants your Hurt to Call out to Him for Help! He’s Always Ready, Willing and Able to Rescue His Children!
You see, when God starts moving, He’s actually on a rescue mission every time! In fact, the name Mary and Joseph were to give God’s Son was, “JESUS”, literally meaning “JEHOVAH RESCUES.” Matthew 1:21, “She will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus [HE SAVES], because he will save his people from their sins.” (GWT). The Living Bible says it like this, “And she will have a Son, and you shall name him Jesus (MEANING ‘SAVIOR’), for he will save his people from their sins.” (TLB) What I love most is the statements: “…BECAUSE HE WILL…”; and “…FOR HE WILL…” Meaning, this is not something you have to worry about because, HE IS ON THE MOVE TO RESCUE AND SAVE YOU! And what I love about one of the definitions of the word “Will” is “expressing facts about ability and capacity” In other words, it’s a FACT that God CAN and WILL SAVE and RESCUE YOU! He has the ABILITY and the CAPACITY to do so! It is without question! That alone, should encourage you to know that even if it hasn’t happened yet, oh, it WILL happen!
The problem with us though is that we call out the name of our problems, circumstances, situations, troubles and struggles, MORE than we call out the name JESUS! But why in the world should we do that? I mean, knowing that His name means He Saves and Rescues, why are we calling out the name of what we’re drowning in instead of calling on the name of the Lifeguard that Walks on Water to Pull Us Out!
Isaiah 43:1-4, “But now, God’s Message, the God who made you in the first place, Jacob, the One who got you started, Israel: “Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you. I’ve called your name. You’re mine. When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you. WHEN YOU’RE IN ROUGH WATERS, YOU WILL NOT GO DOWN. When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end—Because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in! That’s how much you mean to me! That’s how much I love you! I’d sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you.” (MSG).
I don’t care how much your mama, daddy, spouse or children love you, NO ONE LOVES YOU MORE THAN JESUS! AND NO ONE WILL GO TO THIS EXTREME TO KEEP YOU SAFE BUT HIM! SO WHY CALL ON EVERYBODY AND EVERYTHING ELSE, WHEN ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS CALL ON JESUS…THE ONE WHO SAVES AND RESCUES?!
Every time we say “Jesus,” we’re saying why He came – To Rescue!
In Moses’ day, God was coming down to rescue His people from slavery in Egypt. Today, God comes down to rescue people from the bleakness and the bondage's of a life lived outside of His purposes; the kind of “my way” living that the Bible calls sin. Sin robs this life of its meaning and joy, and it condemns us to the death penalty of an awful eternity. Jesus came like the rescuers went into the fallen towers on that dark September 11. He risked His life to save us from a deadly situation from which we could never save ourselves. And He’s on the move right now, and He’s got rescue on His mind! And He’s heading your way! No matter how rough it’s been, or how “…ROUGH THE WATERS, YOU WILL NOT GO DOWN” Because when they LIFTED HIM UP, HE DREW YOU TO HIMSELF! IN LIFTING HIM UP, YOU WERE LIFTED UP TOO! That’s why you have no need to walk around with your head bowed down, your shoulders slumped, your back bent, or your tears falling, JESUS IS ON THE MOVE, and Heading in Your Direction!
I know many of you are saying, ‘but you don’t know how bad it is, or how long it’s been this bad’; ‘you don’t know how long I’ve waited, cried, bargained, and all I heard from Heaven was Silence’; ‘you don’t know how far behind the mortgage and rent are; how late the car note and insurance is; how much the tuition has increased to.’ ‘You don’t know what the doctor diagnosed; what the lawyer said; or what the job did to my life when they went out of business.’ ‘You don’t know the level of life support my marriage is on; you don’t know how hard I’ve prayed for my children who were raised in church, but now run from God.’; ‘You don’t know how suicidal I feel; how much medicating I do (whether alcohol, pills, food, sex etc…)’ And you are absolutely right, I don’t know. But I do know WHO does, and He’s Not Leaving You Stuck Here! He’s On the Move IN, and Because of it, You’re On the Move OUT! Which is why I love today’s text so much:
Psalm 68:7-10, “God, when you took the lead with your people, when you marched out into the wild, Earth shook, sky broke out in a sweat; God was on the march. Even Sinai trembled at the sight of GOD ON THE MOVE, at the sight of Israel’s God. You pour out rain in buckets, O God; thorn and cactus become an oasis For your people to camp in and enjoy. You set them up in business; they went from rags to riches.” (MSG)
Let’s look at this text in parts:
“God, when you took the lead with your people…” Isn’t it amazing that even when we don’t go to God, HE COMES TO US? How encouraging to know that no matter what, He refuses to leave us where we are. And while we’re calling on psychics, horoscopes, and our friends (who are sinking in the same boat of debt and discouragement as we are), He’s on the move taking the lead to come and see about His followers. I’m so grateful that God doesn’t wait on me! He initiates and makes the first move and gives the most effort to reach and rescue little ole me. If you didn’t feel special before today, you should certainly feel special now!
“…Earth shook, sky broke out in a sweat…” Listen, when God enters your life, everything and everyone in your life better beware! Can you imagine that all because “God Was on the MOVE” The Earth shook and the sky began to sweat! Well, the devil and his imps and any enemies you may have picked up along life’s journey better know that God is On the Move in Your Life, and if they do not mean you well, they might want to leave you alone right about now! This is not a game to God by any means. He loves us enough to come and get us, and anyone around us causing harm is about to shake and sweat!
I reiterate, God is Playing No Games! He’s coming in military style to go to war…OVER YOU! And He’s not dragging His feet either, He’s moving quickly and with determination to get you out of whatever you’re in! He’s protesting your imprisonment of pain. You can’t stay there! He’s dressed, armed and ready to do battle, and win! So even when you experience those moments when you think no one loves you enough to fight for you, know that God is not included in that number! He Will March In and Fight For You Because the Battles Not Yours Anyway…It’s the Lord’s!
“…at the sight of Israel’s God…” What excites me about this part is how repetitively Israel messed up with God, and still He came to their rescue over and over again! Which is of great encouragement to you and I as we’ve messed up with God multiple times as well. And yet, as many times as we’ve gotten it wrong, He still exercises His right to rescue us! We’ve had to go in a 40-year circle due to our disobedience, bad choices, and the like, and still God Has Not Forgotten About Us! He’s still Israel’s God, and He’s still ours!
Listen, I get it, I know it’s been a rough time, a hard time, a time of hardship, trial and struggle. But be encouraged, GOD IS ON THE MOVE, AND HEADING IN YOUR DIRECTION! IT WON’T STAY LIKE THIS AND NEITHER WILL YOU! YOU WILL MOVE FROM HERE AS SOON AS GOD MOVES! You’ve cried, prayed, fasted, read the bible, pleaded with heaven, summoned all the angels, and still nothing has happened…UNTIL NOW! But Now Is Your Time of Transition!
The word “transition” is another one of my favorite words. By definition it means, “the process of changing from one state or condition to another.” And that perfectly defines you today my friend, you are transitioning! God is on the move, heading in your direction to make a change in your life for the better! You’ve settled and suffered here for far too long, and now it’s time to change and transition out of this mess into your miracle!
Let Nothing and No One Move You Anymore From This Day Forward! The only important move for you to keep in my mind is the Movement of God…because It’s Coming…And So Is He! Right to Your Rescue!
Be Encouraged, GOD IS ON THE MOVE…AND HEADING IN YOUR DIRECTION!
“God is constantly on the move. I cannot stay where I am and follow God at the same time; responding requires movement.” (Margaret Feinberg)
“Sometimes God closes doors because it’s time to move forward. He knows you won’t move unless your circumstances force you. Trust the transition. God’s got you!” (Pinterest)
“God is on the move to rescue people from misery to everlasting happiness, which can only be found in Him.” (John Piper)
“God doesn’t move in your life when you struggle. He moves when you pray.” (Pinterest)
“Great moves of God are usually preceded by simple acts of obedience.” (Steven Furtick)
“Sometimes our lives have to be completely shaken up, changed, and rearranged to relocate us to the place we are meant to be.” (Pinterest)
“Perfect faith is not faith that moves God. Perfect faith is faith that moves us to trust God when He doesn’t seem to be moving.” (Andy Stanley)
Blessings
J.P. Olson
www.thewordwithjpolson.com
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