Red Sea Rule #5--Stay calm and confident, and give God time to work.

When we walked into Bible Study this past Wednesday night (9/19/12) we were told to pick a piece a chocolate from the basket, but to not eat it yet.  They were primarily Dove chocolates.  First, I was excited to get chocolate.  And, Dove chocolate on top of that.  With a basket full of Dove chocolate, that meant lots of quotes!  I was wondering if the inside quotes would come into play somehow during our time together, but they didn't.  But, since I enjoy their quotes and since I kept mine, here is my Dove wrapper and quote:

I thought that was an appropriate quote for me as I continue to learn to live into freedom and attempt to live into who I am and Whose I am.  But I digress from the Bible Study.  Though I will say that handing out chocolate in the sanctuary is a wonderful part of any service!  (HINT! HINT!)☺

Our time together began with sharing praises.  The only difficult part was hearing what folks said, but Pastor Rowland repeated in general what they said when necessary.  In hindsight, a roaming microphone might have been useful during that segment.  But the sharing was good and as with the times in the past, this is a wonderful time of community building.

Several people were lifted up for special prayer as we began for different circumstances.  Some folks went down to the altar to be in their place as we prayed for them.

Rev. Amy Nutt shared a situation we had prayed for the previous week and how the situation had gotten worse to reveal some infections.  She mentioned that it sometimes happens that we pray and things get worse.  That made me think back to last week's lesson and how the children of Israel prayed and prayed.  Things got worse before they got better.  

A rabbit trail.  When I was in 2nd grade, I broke my collar bone.  But I didn't completely break it.  When my parents took me to the doctor, the doctor explained that it needed to be completely broken in order to heal correctly.  So, the kind and wonderful doctor karate chopped my clavical in two.  Ironically, his name was Dr. Pain (if I am remembering correctly).  Though I'm not sure if that is with or without an "-e" at the end.  For me, in that situation, things got worse before they got better.  But they needed to get worse in order to get better.  That's not the only time I've experienced that things can get worse before they get better.  So, I understand the concept.

Exodus 14:13-14 were the focus verses: "Moses said to the people: "Do not be afraid.  Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today.  For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.  The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace."

Keeping those emotions in check during difficult times is not easy.  But the focus here is staying calm and confident and giving God time to work.  Therefore, we need to try to (1) not be afraid, (2) stand still, and (3) watch to see what God is going to do.

Here is where the chocolate comes in.  It became part of an exercise to bring calm into our time.  Rev. Amy Nutt led us in a time of putting our feet on the floor, closing our eyes, getting comfortable.  The question was asked: "How can we be calm in the moment?"  What a great question for us to consider in moments of chaos and struggle, etc.  We were led through a time of relaxing and breathing.  Then, the chocolate was referred to... anticipating what it would taste like, opening it slowly, putting it in our mouths and slowly enjoying the chocolate.  Ah.....

I'm not getting the exercise/activity exact here as I was trying to participate and not write it all down.  But, hopefully you get the idea.

Amy read a verse and then told us to guess where it came from.  It was from the Psalms.  Psalm 42.  She had shared:

¹As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God.
² My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?

She may have shared more of that Psalm, but I didn't have a Bible at the time to see if she shared the whole Psalm or not.  However, it's a great Psalm, so check out the whole thing.

Amy talked about having been at funerals where "It is Well with my Soul" is sung.  She talked about how it can be well with our soul in the here and now, not only after we are gone.  We can say it is well with our sould in the midst of our turmoils. (amen!)

She read from the book, page 56, last two paragraphs:

"Many times we cannot solve problems, heal hurts, change circumstances, or win our own battles.  We must kneel in prayer, then stand to see what He will do.  We must leave room for God, staying calm and giving Him time to work.
     "Faith," wrote C.H. Mackintosh, "raised the soul above the difficulty, straight to God Himself, and enables one to stand still.  We gain nothing by our restless and anxious efforts....It is therefore true wisdom, in all times of difficulty and perplexity, to stand still--to wait only upon God, and He will assuredly open a way for us." (56)

Unwrap the gift-- taste and see that the Lord is good. 

Our time closed with a recording of Wil Martin singing "It is Well".  Very moving and powerful!  Very calming and strengthening in the Lord.

God is working!

~Debra

P.S.  It was confirmed that the author, Robert J. Morgan, will be with us at Burks UMC on Wednesday January 9, 2013.  Awesome!