#BlessinginObedience by: Julie Wicker
One of the more known stories of the bible; Moses parting the red sea for the Israelites to escape Pharaoh’s captivity. I love that right before the miraculous parting of the waters we are told to be still; “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to BE STILL” Ex. 14:13-14. What I really want to dive into today, is the blessing we find in our obedience. The parting of the red sea did not happen until Moses took an act of faith and stretched out his hand over the red sea; “Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all the night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong, east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided” Ex. 14:21.
Are you in a season of waiting? Have you been held captive for 40 years? In what area of your life is God waiting for your obedience to part your red sea? In Deu 28:2 “All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God.” A lot easier said than done, right?
The song New Wine by Hillsong has been a blessing to me. Some of the lyrics include; “In the crushing and the pressing, you are making new wine. In the soil I now surrender, you are breaking new ground”. I am currently going through a season of crushing and pressing as we wait through my dad’s newly cancer diagnosis. I have faith that God will bring something new and good out of Dad’s story for His glory and our good. I love the thought of “New Wine” being made through the process.
Another well-known story I love is the first recorded miracle from Jesus when he walked the earth. We read in John 2:7-9 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so, they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. In this story, we find the blessing in the obedience of the servants when they fill the jars with water.
In Holy Communion we have the gifts of bread and wine, for the Holy Spirit to bless over them so that they are a symbol of the body and blood of Christ so that we may be reminded of the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood. I love that our church chooses to partake in this. This little act of obedience is a way for us to be still in God’s house of worship. I love the thought that he is making new wine out of us in that process.
In the process we find our Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that this message encourages you to see that in the process of your captivity, in the process of the pressing and crushing, in the process of new wine being made to look for God through your little acts of obedience. It is there that you will find your blessing.
Water Walkers 