When that Boulder Won't Move

  

There is a line in Lauren Daigle’s popular song, Trust in You, that says, “If you don’t move that mountain, I’m wanting you to move…” I have pondered that line as I compare it with the verse in Matthew that says, “With a little faith, you can move mountains.” (Matt 17:20) If mountains in our lives aren’t moved, does it mean we don’t have faith? Perhaps you are pondering that, as well. 

Some of us have mountains…things in front of us that seem to impair our journey. We want it gone so we can move forward. Mountains are huge! But the truth is, most of us only have boulders in our way. We seem to be blocked by a person or situation we cannot see our way around. Our prayer is, “God, please move it.” Yet it remains. We sit in the boulder’s shadow, and lose faith and hope that we will ever see the victory. 

Right now, I am dealing with a huge boulder in my life. I know deeply that God wants to move me in a particular direction, but there is this obstruction I cannot get around. As I prayed, God showed me several scriptures, none of which talked about moving large rocks!  He showed me scriptures about water and the power water has. He reminded me of living water. In John 4, Jesus said to the woman at the well in John 4:10:  “Jesus answered,‘If you knew the gift of God, and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would ask him, and he would give you living water.”

 

Living water. God also reminded me of a trip several years ago, when my husband and I did a white-water-rafting excursion on the Colorado River. At first I wasn’t sure I wanted to get on the raft because I knew there were many rapids--which are created by large boulders in the river. Many of the rapids were very dangerous. The thing that changed my mind was our guide. He was an NFL linebacker and a massive man! Not only was he huge, he knew how to maneuver our raft through the rapids to keep us safe; he had done this many times.  The obligatory picture, which was taken on our journey, showed our faces filled with fear mixed with excitement. It was so much fun…not because it wasn’t dangerous, it was fun because we trusted this huge human being to keep us safe. 

 

At one time, the boulders in the Colorado River might have impeded the flow of water, but now they were merely detours. It was a lesson I needed to remember. Living water moves forward...always. It doesn’t stagnant and become stinky. Boulders thrive in stagnant water and that is where I have found myself.  I had forgotten that living water, like a river, can wear down a mountain (the Grand Canyon) but I also had forgotten it can move over boulders until the river’s path is no longer hindered. The more living water, the deeper the flow. 

 

The same is true of God’s river in our lives. “If you knew…you 

would ask and He would give you living water.” Perhaps, I have 

been asking for the wrong thing. Perhaps, I have been asking for 

the barrier to be removed instead of Jesus showing Himself faithful 

over the barrier. There most likely will always be boulders causing 

hindrances to my journey, but I have a guide who knows how to 

flow over those boulders while the river runs forward. God’s voice 

clearly said I need to pray for more of Him, the living water. “If I 

knew Him…I would ask and He would give.” 

The Benefit of Stepping Back

There are situations in life when we have an opportunity to become angry, fearful and bitter OR peaceful, trusting, and better.  I am sure you have been in that place sometime in your life. God lead me to a very familiar passage in I Kings 18-19 about Elijah. You might remember this lesson: Elijah was told to go and show God's power to the prophets of Baal. God did an amazing miracle and many pagans turned toward the One True God. This did not make the evil leaders, Ahab and Jezebel very happy, and Elijah's life was threatened. He ran.

I am a runner...no not the kind a Fit-Bit would monitor, but the kind who runs from controversy when things get a little rough. Usually, running happens right after a time of great victory...a time when God's presence was so heavy I could touch it. The enemy craftily takes this particular time to present an attack. I want to run away.  This passage gives some points to ponder when we are in a similar situation.

• After a great victory, we are physically tired. 
• When we are tired, we allow our thoughts to run away 
• When we let our thoughts run away, we become fearful
• When we become fearful, we begin to think that we are all alone
• When we are all alone, we begin to think even God doesn't care
• When we think God doesn't care, we hide away from the world.

Does this sound familiar? As I read, I saw God in each situation:

• God gave rest to Elijah and brought him food to replenish
• God allowed Elijah to run and hide for awhile
• God spoke. 

God wasn't angry at Elijah for being human. We need to understand that. But God also wasn't going to let Elijah remain in a cave believing the lies of his fearful heart. He had called Elijah for a great work and that was more important than Elijah's feelings so He called to Elijah. Eventually, Elijah came out of hiding and heard the voice of the God who loved him.

"What are you doing here, Elijah?" I Kings 19:9 When God asks us a question, He expects honest answers and Elijah told Him everything he was feeling.  God patiently listened to every whine of His servant. When Elijah finished, God spoke truth to each of Elijah's complaints. Eventually, truth brought rest to all the fears. Elijah finally saw things from God's perspective.

I needed to hear that today as I am tempted to run from a situation. Sometimes, merely stepping back from a situation is OK. It doesn't mean I am giving up, it means I am willing to rest and allow God to show me a proper perspective of the situation.

Today, my encouragement to you is, instead of quitting, step away and listen to God's voice which will always be in a still small voice spoken deeply into your heart. That is when you know He is speaking a word only to you.