I wouldn’t be surprised to have confirmation some day that the ante-deluvian world was flat. It appears to me that mountains arose during the flood. But all of them??? I don’t know for sure. We do know that since the flood we have lots of mountains and valleys scattered around the world. Along with the seas, mountains can be things of beauty, but they can both be traps, walls and problems. You can ask Israel about that.
You and I have not recently been chased by an army – but we do get boxed in from time to time. We get into financial traps – covered with medical bills or repair bills on the house.. Sometimes we get sick and there seems to be no answer, or else the answers are painful and difficult. We have the pressures of our jobs, family responsibilities, and sometimes people don’t like us. There are neighbor problems, in-law problems and governmental problems. If lately you haven’t been trapped between the enemy, the mountains and the sea, you will be soon. Life is filled with tight places and tight squeezes.
But how do you face such tight places? That is what sets the Christian apart – or at least it should. Please turn to Philippians 4:6-7 – “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Repeating the scripture, these verses tell to be careful about nothing, but to be thankful for everything. They tell us to be prayerful about everything and willful about giving. The teach us to be peaceful in reposing. Yesterday may have been the greatest, happiest day in your life, but today Egyptians may stalk you. If we handle our troubles properly, we can be eventually blessed by every circumstance.
The first thing in coping with stress is to be sure that you are PEACEFULLY REPOSING on the Lord.
Christ Jesus once said, “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” We will get to the negative “fear not” in just a minute; but what about the positive: “fear ye the Lord”? It is a positive isn’t it? Can fear be a positive? Absolutely. True fear of the Lord is as rare as a 100 lb. gold nugget and a hundred times as valuable. Because fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and spiritual wisdom answers our problems. The fear of the Lord brings sinners to their knees and, in a sense, brings enemies into the family of God. And the fear of the Lord naturally progresses into peacefully reposing in Christ.
We read about Israel standing before the Red Sea with Pharaoh coming up on their tail. How did they get there? It began with one kind of fear of the Lord. Moses had been commissioned by the Lord to lead Israel out of Egypt. But Moses was filled with self-doubts and even divine doubts: “Who shall I say sent me?” Do you remember what Moses was told to do to show to both Israel and Egypt that he was God-sent? The proof of God was the fear which God established in their hearts. After a period of time and twelve nasty plagues, Israel was set free. And after they had obtained their exit visas, which way did they go? Normally, a one week journey east and north would have gotten them back to the land of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But rather than east, God led them somewhat south and into a box canyon. Israel was trapped once again, but this time it was more clearly ordained and commanded by God. And that event, along with their deliverance put an exclamation mark on their fear of the Lord.
Does Romans 8:28 apply to you? “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
Like Israel, David knew that he was trapped in Psalm 4 – “Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer. There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.”
What is the fruit of the Spirit? “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” Peace? Part of the legacy of the of the Lord Jesus can be found in the promise, “Peace I leave with you, my peach I give unto you; not as the world giveth give I unto you.” The reason that many Christians don’t enjoy this peace of Christ is that they haven’t learned the lessons taught by the fear of the Lord. And so, as a result, they live in carnality, sensuality, in mediocrity and immediacy.
When we realize that our difficult places are owned by the omnipotent God, we can learn to relax. When we use our own map rather than the divine GPS, we walk into trouble. When we run ahead of the pillar of fire, we may run into a herd of lions or a pride of rattlesnakes. But still the Lord knows where we are. And our Saviour Shepherd may take until midnight to come for us, but He hasn’t ever lost sight of us.
If verse 7 were known and understood in this world what anguish could be spared. Even if the children of God realized what it means, this would be a nicer place to live. The first thing to do in tight places is to peacefully repose in the Saviour’s will.
The second exhortation is to be CAREFUL FOR NOTHING.
The word “careful” comes in lots of different models – like different kinds of cars. Sometimes it means one of the various synonyms for “vigilance” and “watchfulness.” But it also refers to “worry” and the degree of care that carries someone into the realm of “anxiety.” The worry tree is a different breed. It produces the bitterest fruit imaginable.But it is as addictive as meth, and it kills just as surely. Many people get ulcers climbing mole hills, when should be acquiring muscles and health scaling mountains.
In Exodus 14 we have a great lesson on the worthlessness of anxiety. God led Israel into that apparent death trap. But those people hadn’t learned one of the earlier lessons from the plagues – death is under the sovereign control of the Lord. The people began to worry and cry about their imminent demise, but not one of them had yet died. If there was an epidemic of bubonic plague, and it had killed the next door neighbor, that would have been slightly different – but only slightly different. A good rule of thumb is not to worry about the future until we can manage the present. Blessed is the man who is too busy to worry during the day and too sleepy to worry at night. Blessed is the man who is taking care today of the things that he can control, and leaving to God the things that he cannot control.
There were the poor Israelites surrounded by the armies of Pharaoh with only GOD to protect them. With ONLY Jehovah, the same God who created the porcupine, and the Portugese Man of War. Isn’t He the same God who created the skunk? Israel was as defenseless as the rattlesnake. And so are you. So what if Pharaoh’s army is nipping at our heels. What shall we do? Fear not them which able kill body; what more can they do? “The fear of man bringeth a snare; but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.”
Another recommendation of Philippians 4 is to be THANKFUL FOR EVERYTHING.
There are a lot people who think just like Job in his worst day, “Oh, my problems, my problems, my problems.” Have you ever met person who had everything go wrong all at once? We’ve probably all experienced days when we were flooded with trials. But have any of us lost as much as Job did all during the same week? Let’s say that we are absolutely helpless and hopeless, which is quite rare, but possible. Even then we have something for which to praise the Lord. Paul said, “I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake.” He had just enumerated a long list of trials through which he had passed. And then he said, I take pleasure in such things “for when I am weak, then am I strong.” Could we extrapolate his statement into saying, “when I am at my weakest, then am I strongest”? We are at our greatest strength when we have no place to turn but to the strength of the Almighty. What is that in thine hand Samson? The jaw bone of an ass, you say? What have you got there David? A sling? What are you going to do with that handful of meal Elijah? An antidote to poison, are you sure?
Israel was boxed in; they had no escape except to return to Egypt. Come on Israel, look toward the pillar of cloud and tell me what you see? Is it darkness or light? When we can learn to say, “Lord I approve of what you are doing with my life, I rely on your strength and wisdom,” then our little traps become stepping stones across the sea.
Another thing to practice in tight spots is to be PRAYERFUL ABOUT EVERYTHING.
There ought be a rule all our lives, “If it’s not worth praying about, then it’s not worth worrying about.” Then a corollary ought to follow, “If you’ve prayed about it, then you should just leave it with the Lord.” Did Israel begin to pray when they found themselves trapped? Like Israel, there are a lot of saints confuse murmuring and praying. Just because both sentiments are expressed to God that doesn’t make them brothers, equals or prayer.
The Lord loves to hear us pray. Do you suppose He may even allow us to enter predicaments just to hear us pray? Does that sound cruel? What would the Book of Psalms sound like if David wasn’t in frequent difficulty? What about Joseph and Daniel?
But don’t save your prayers only for the problem days. Did you ever get an e-mail about the rancher who died? An old cowboy was out working on some fences when a blizzard came up. As he hopped back into his pick-up it wouldn’t start and three days later they found his frozen body. When he got to Heaven, he was surprised that the place looked so much like Wyoming. He began chatting with Saint Peter, talking about prayer – answered and unanswered. He wasn’t really angry, but the cowboy wanted to know why God didn’t answer his prayer to get the old truck started that day in the blizzard. “Peter listened very patiently, And when Jake was done, There were smiles of recognition, And he said, “So, you are the one!!” “That day your truck, it wouldn’t start, And you sent your prayer a flying, You gave us all a real bad time, With hundreds of us trying.” “A thousand angels rushed, To check the status of your file, But you know, Jake, we hadn’t heard From you in quite a long while.” “And though all prayers are answered, And God ain’t got no quota, He didn’t recognize your voice, so He started a truck in Minnesota.”
The theology in that poem is terrible, but the underlying suggestion is accurate: Why should we expect God to answer our prayers in the day of our difficulty, while we neglect his worship and fellowship in the days of prosperity?
Paul’s last suggestion was to be WILFUL ABOUT GIVING.
The Lord led Israel to the banks of Red Sea – what if they became living sacrifice? Without knowing all things, we may not realize God’s purposes in the events in our lives. One key to overcoming our entrapment is submission to whatever the Lord wants.
Paul went to Jerusalem entrapped in his own will and promise. But if this meant his sacrifice, he was willing to make it. This is the only way live truly victoriously. Abraham was trapped in the will of the Lord – “Sacrifice your son to my name!” There was no way out except submission, and when he did, oh what blessing.
The best way to enjoy or survive these lives of ours is to mean the words to the old hymn: “Take my life and let it be consecrated Lord to thee”? These are some of the Biblical ways to cope with the stress of tight places. Peacefully reposing, fearful in nothing, thankful for everything. Prayerful about everything, and wilful about giving.