I keep thinking how often we on this whirling orb of thorn, dust, wind and thistle live out the reality of “hurry up & wait.” Over & over we dash around dizzily only to get ready to...wait. But it seems to me God’s way is often the reserve.

“Wait wait wait wait...

now HURRY!”

My reading this AM was Exodus 13-14. Our faith tradition is so rich. With careful, prayerful reading, the stories spring back to life on the sacred pages by the stirring of the Holy Spirit. All the waiting, wondering, crying, praying in Exodus then 13:4:”TODAY you are going out.”

The Lord had told Moses to camp facing the Red Sea. (Think of it like an enormous red stop sign.) Said to Moses, “Pharaoh will say of the Israelites: they are wandering around the land in confusion; the wilderness has boxed them in.” Isn’t that how we feel sometimes? Boxed in?

Feel like we’ll be boxed in forever. Like we’ll die here. Stuck. Like God kept us waiting long enough for the enemy to come devour us. Midway through Exodus 14, they look up &, sure enough, Pharaoh’s army is hot on their heels. 3 reactions:
The Israelites: We should have stayed!

Moses: Stand still and see!

God: No, GOOOOOOOO!!!!

There comes a time, you see, when the wait is over but, if all you’ve ever known is the wait, you’ll find a good solid spiritual rationalization to, well, wait some more. If all you’ve ever known is oppression, you’ll reason

that at least it’s familiar. Maybe even godly. Sacrificial. “I should never have left! I think I’ll go back.”

But somewhere beyond your natural hearing, the God who created the heavens and the earth and turns seas into dry lands and dry lands into seas, thunders,

GO!!!!!!!!!!!

The enemy would have you believe you are boxed in. You most assuredly are not. For people of faith, there is always a way forward. Yes, by all means, wait upon the Lord! But, right about now, it may not be that you’re waiting on the Lord. It may be that the Lord’s waiting on you.