Between a Rock and a Hard Place
by Blogger Harvey Harrington
Sometimes situations seem impossible. I think of the escape of the Israelites, led by Moses, from the pursuing Egyptions, as recorded in the book of Exodus. It seemed likely they'd be killed by the Egyptians or they'd be pushed into the Red Sea and drown. They were truly between a rock and a hard place! Moses held out his staff and God parted the waters. The Israelites walked through on dry ground and crossed the sea, followed by the Egyptian Army. Once the Israelites had safely crossed the sea, Moses lifted his arms again, the sea closed, and the Egyptians were drowned.
There are many issues in today's world that seem almost as impossible as the one the Israelites experienced. There are more than enough fears to go around.
To name a few:
A fear of covid, a fear that vaccines won't work, a fear of dying, a fear that we're losing our freedom, a fear that we'll have terrible inflation, a fear of the stock market crashing, a fear of a takeover from another country, a fear the planet is melting or falling apart, a fear of lawlessness, or even of a civil war. That's just a few that come to mind. Some people are hiding in fear, some are cultivating other people's fears to get a desired reaction, some are blaming others for this, some are ignoring it all, and many people are just agitated and upset. Fear mongering is common and it seems like Chicken Little was right, when she suggested "the sky is falling" after an acorn landed on her head!
Our God is not known for being a God of fear, but rather a God of peace, and of hope. The message to FEAR NOT is conveyed over 300 times in the Bible. (I didn't count to verify that.) For example, "Fear Not, I am with you". Isaiah 41:10 We are reminded in II Timothy 1:7 that "God gave us not a spirit of fear, but of power and love". Psalms 23:4 says, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me; your rod and your staff comfort me." The angel said to the shepherds, "Fear Not for I bring you news of great joy that will be for all people, today in the town of David a Saviour has been born. He is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:10
We may feel like we're between a rock and a hard place, or between the Egyptians and the Red Sea, but we can take comfort in knowing that we can trust the God who created the earth and all that is within it, and that He is sufficient to help us cope with these troubled times!
