Grab Whatever You Can!

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t was the middle of the night and young Benjamin was sleepy.  He could hardly hold his eyes open.  He tried to concentrate on all the activities of the day but it was no use; his eyes simply would not cooperate.  His parents, however, refused to let him go to bed, refused to let him even lie down for a brief nap.  His mother had told him to remain dressed and to keep his shoes on because at some point during the evening, they would start on a long trip.

Benjamin had never been on a vacation, but if being deprived of sleep was the way they started, he wanted no part of one.  Suddenly, he heard footsteps rapidly approaching his front door.  Everyone in the house grew quiet, all conversation ceased, and the air became very tense and heavy.  The door flew open with a crash that sent his little stomach straight up into his throat.  Outside, his neighbors were frantically packing their belongings, placing them wherever they could find room.  It appeared that the time for the vacation to start had arrived, but Benjamin hadn't pictured it like this and he had no idea so many others were going with him.

The person responsible for knocking down his door was a soldier.  He angrily ordered everyone to get out within 10 minutes because they were leaving.  Now Benjamin was certain that the time to leave had come.  His mother looked at him with wide eyes and said, "Grab whatever you can, and hurry!"  Benjamin obeyed, grabbing a sack full of raisins, his favorite snack, and a stuffed toy he liked to sleep with.  They joined the others in the street and the throng began moving quickly towards the outskirts of the settlement.  His mother held his hand tightly so they wouldn't be separated in the crowd.  She hadn't had time to grab some of the most important things in the household.  All she had taken was a few clothes and a large mixing bowl of bread dough.  "What an odd combination," Benjamin thought, "but at least she will look nice and we can eat!"

Although Benjamin and his family are not real people, the event portrayed here is!  The Hebrew Exodus from Egypt stands as one of the most miraculous events in Jewish history.  After 430 years, God brought forth his people in a mighty way, using miraculous signs and wonders to display his power and his love for them.  On the night before their departure, the children of Israel had been told to be prepared to leave at a moment's notice.  They were to eat their final meal fully dressed, ready to leave as soon as the word was given (Exodus 12:10).

Our scripture verse today speaks about God's provision for his children.  Exodus 12:39 says, "And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt; for it was not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves."  When God was ready to move his children out of Egypt, he did so with haste.  Although they knew they were leaving, they didn't know exactly when.  At the last minute, they had to grab whatever was available and leave Egypt.

Sometimes as Christians, this is exactly how we feel.  God calls us suddenly to change directions, to change locations, or to change our area of service.  The call comes so quickly, or an event happens so suddenly, we barely have time to get our thoughts or any provisions together.  We feel hurried, bustled, and the unfolding events are not as we envisioned them to be.  Like Benjamin who didn't like vacations because they deprived him of sleep, we are hesitant to follow God because we are unsure of the immediate circumstances.  But dear Christian, grab what you can, pack your bags, and go!!  The destination God has chosen for you is flowing with milk and honey. 

In the desert, God was their provision.  It was he who gave manna and quail daily and provided water for them to drink.  It was God who kept them from being sick and who didn't let the soles of their sandals wear thin, even when they insisted on wandering in the desert for 40 years.  It was never God's design for his children to provide for themselves; instead, he wanted to do it for them all along.

So, if God is pushing you into a new area of service and you are concerned about having shelter, food, clothing, employment, etc.  Remember the children of Israel on the desert floor.  Each morning they walked out and picked up bread, and each evening they ate quail.  They had water to drink, and they had shelter.  Jesus himself said that the birds of the air don't work or store provisions but God still feeds them.  How much more will he provide for us!  Take Benjamin's mother's advice when God begins to move you and "Grab whatever you can!"  It's time to move on!!

Every Fifteen Minutes

“I

f you don’t like the weather in Texas, just wait fifteen minutes.”  Thus the saying goes by those who come from these parts and call them home.  When I first arrived in Texas, I thought this saying was a slice of Texas humor used to make those of us not from these parts feel more relaxed and jovial about our new home.  It didn’t take me long, however, to discover that this was not a propaganda ploy.  This was the honest truth, not in the least stretched or twisted out of proportion.

In the past nineteen years, I have witnessed almost every type of weather scenario imaginable.  I have experienced thunderstorms, flash flooding, wind gusts, tornado watches and warnings, hail storms, and have seen hurricanes strike our southern coast. A few years ago on a particular summer afternoon, the weatherman had predicted heavy thunderstorms during late afternoon hours.  Right on time, just like clockwork, they showed up.  The wind blew, the sky darkened, the thunder pealed, and the lightening flashed.  Everything was going just as predicted.

That’s when the unexpected happened just about fifteen minutes into the storm.  I was sitting on my couch when I heard hard knocks against the large windows in the office.  After a few seconds, the knocks grew steadily louder and one glance out the window let me know there was more to this storm than just wind and rain.  Out on the lawn, hail stones the size of marbles were accumulating.  As far as the eye could see, these stones were raining down, smacking against windows, bouncing off cars, smashing into the sidewalk and bouncing off the roofs of neighboring houses.  The sound was deafening as the hail continued to fall.

Right on schedule, after fifteen minutes, the hail stopped, the rain slowed to a drizzle, and the wind grew calm.  It was as if nothing had happened and had it not been for the hailstones littering the front lawn, no one would have ever believed frozen precipitation had fallen from the sky. 

Life sometimes resembles the weather patterns in Texas.  Every fifteen minutes it seems something new crosses our path.  These changes often come in the form of unexpected situations, difficult challenges, and down right inconveniences.  The car breaks down, we get sick, there is a death in our family, money gets tight, and myriad of other things find their way into our lives.  It seems that life throws us one curveball after another and that every fifteen minutes, the conditions of our life change. 

At times like this we often found ourselves discouraged, frustrated, dejected, and ready to throw in the towel and give up.  We feel there is no stability; nothing to hold to, our family, our friends, and any form of security seems to be all but lost.  Sometimes we feel that even God has forgotten us and has somehow found something else to do rather than pat attention to our situations.

If this sounds familiar to you or if life is tossing you one curve after another, I would like to share a word of encouragement from the book of James.  In James 1:17 we read, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 

At first glance, you may think I have misread this passage.  You may be hard-pressed to find anything good about your situation, let alone consider it a perfect gift.  Nothing about heartache, financial difficulty, relationship problems, or a host of other challenges seem to be good or encouraging.  But read on to the end of the passage and you will see the wonderful hope in this verse.  At the end of this passage James reveals such a wonderful kernel of truth: God does not change!  That’s right!  God does not change.  Unlike sand which shifts and is blown by the wind, God stands firm and protects us in all life’s trials.  He never leaves us and will not allow us to be tempted beyond that which we can stand.  No matter what we are facing, the same God who spoke everything into existence, the same God who parted the Red Sea, the same God who appeared in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, this same God is with you in every situation of your life—good or bad!  He has promised to use every situation in your life to bring about good and that is exactly what He is doing even when it doesn’t feel like it. 

God is always at work molding His children into the image of Christ.  Situations in life may change every fifteen minutes but our God is the same hour after hour, day after day, month after month, year after year, from now throughout all eternity.  Do you have fifteen minutes to spend with Him today?  Find out what a change this can bring about in your life.  The clock starts now!