Painted into a corner.
Many of you will be familiar with the cartoon picture of a person who paints the floor of a room and paints himself into a corner where there is no window or door.
So the painter is surrounded by wet paint on all sides and no exit on the others.
A modern saying that fits this is being between a rock and a hard place.
In life we often find ourselves in situations like this.
Have you ever felt you didn’t know which way to turn – that you couldn’t do anything right – that you are damned if you do something and damned if you don’t?
Then it may be that we find some scriptures here this morning that are for you.
In the bible we find people in these kind of situations.
How they respond and what they do is often an indicator for us as to how we find answers in our own lives.
In the book of Daniel for example we find two outstanding examples.
The story of Daniel and the lions den is a story of incredible courage and faith and an account of the faithfulness of God.
In the account of Shadrach, Meshech and Abednigo and the fiery furnace we find the same principles applying.
And
Even where the circumstances do not result in personal survival – in the death of Jesus on the cross and the stoning of Stephen in Acts we again find incredible courage and faith and an account of the faithfulness of God.
Life is not always easy.
We face difficulties and challenges.
We face different outcomes.
What are some key principles that we can glean from the bible that will help us in difficult situations.
This morning I would like to use as a base scripture the account of Moses and the people of Israel when the faced the threat of slavery and violence by Pharoah on the one hand and the threat of drowning in the Red sea in the other.
Let us look now at this mornings scripture.
EX 14:5 - ex 14 - 31(read.)
There are many things in this passage that are helpful if you are in a difficult situation.
Today I just want to draw out three that will help us to find our way in difficult situations.
The first is that:-
Life is not always fair. – Don’t expect fairness in exchange for your own goodness. Daniel did not deserve to b e thrown into the lions den – Jesus never did anything wrong – in his whole life he spent his time helping and loving people and yet he was persecuted and killed – not because he was bad but precisely the opposite because he was good.
Stephen was stoned because he was sharing the word of God.
Sometimes when I hear someone say that = It’s not fair – I understand what they are saying but wonder if they fully understand the truth of what they are saying.
It is not that justice doesn’t happen in the long term or that what goes round comes round.
But it is tyrue that the victim may or may not see it in their own lifetime.
The Israelites in the time of Moses were complaining about their lot and they were compalining very loudly.
EX 14:10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. 11 They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, `Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"
They did what many people do when they see that they are in difficult circumstances – they found someone to blame.
Tall poppy syndrome applied here – they blamed Moses.
When we do that it often stops us engaging with two important truths.
1. Maybe God has allowed the injustice (Not caused it allowed it.)
2. maybe – just maybe God is about to be glorified in the answer.
But while we are complaining about the unfairnesss of the situation we can not see it.
Faith is a gift from God but complaining can be a lack of faith in God. This is demonstarated in the scriptures when the complaining of the Israelites arouses God’s anger.
NU 11:1 Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused.
Life is not always fair and justice is not sometimes evident until after the judgement of God which may not be in our lifetime on earth – The bible tells us this.
ECC 3:16 And I saw something else under the sun:
In the place of judgment--wickedness was there,
in the place of justice--wickedness was there.
ECC 3:17 I thought in my heart,
"God will bring to judgment
both the righteous and the wicked,
for there will be a time for every activity,
a time for every deed."
But number one rule in a hard place – Don’t expect everything to be fair.
If you do it may rob you of the opportunity to see God’s answer.
In the life of the Prophet Jonah there is a beautiful account of the Prophet sitting watching over the city of Ninevah waiting on some justice or fairness to be played out – God lets a plant grow up and give him shade and he is very happy until the plant shrivells up and dies and then he cries out in complaint –
Then God draws the bigger picture for him and says:-
JNH 4:9 But God said to Jonah, "Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?"
"I do," he said. "I am angry enough to die."
JNH 4:10 But the LORD said, "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?"
The second thing we learn apart from life is not fair in this picture is to assess what you have.
Assess what you have.
The people felt anger and were in the business of blaming and could not see the answer.
Moses was not like that he said:-
EX 14:13 Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."
Moses knew the answer was with God.
He knew his God and he knew that God would see him through – no matter what.
Out of such faith he says:
Do not be afraid.
Stand firm
The Lord will fight for you,
You only need to be still . . .
Consider the situation - - the earthly odds were not in Moses favour.
An army on one side a deep sea on the other.
No escape a nation of people including helpless children in his care.
No weapons or army.
Nothing in his favour.
Yet Moses could say stand firm
Be still.
See the answer to our rock and a hard place situaations are not in our anxieties and replaying the dvd of what our situaation is.
The answer is with God.
Some people might say this is a good time to pray.
But in this particular situation God even counsells against that – all he says is –
EX 14:15 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16
God questions Moses even crying out to God.
Instead and here is what he says:-
EX 14:15 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. 1
You see there is no use in crying out to God if he has already given you the answer.
Imagine you are a small boy in class.
The teacher sets a problem three plus three.
The class attempt to answer the problem swome get it right some don’t.
Then the teacher writes the answer on the board – SIX
The answer is six.
Little John puts his hand up please miss pleaswe miss – I don’t know the answer please tell me the answer.
Now that would be reasonable if the teacher had not given the answer on the board.
But the answer is on the board.
Why call out to the teacher when she has already given the answer?
It was the same here in this life given situation.
God had already given the answer.
EX 7:1 Then the LORD said to Moses, "See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. 2 You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. 3 But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt, 4 he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. 5 And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it."
The key verse in this passage is:-
. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites
God had promised to bring the Israelites out – Moses had no reason to disbelieve that – God had already shown him he would bring them out.
So often when we are in difficult situations we forget the promises of God.
What are some promises we might hold onto.
I love the promise to Joshua in Joshua chapter one verse five . As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
Corrie ten Boom had been imprisoned in Ravensbruk prison camp for helping the Jews.
Suddenly despite everything she found herself recommended for release and then began to ask a series of if questions about her release.
Suddenly she pulled herself up…
There are no “ifs” in God’s Kingdom.
I coluld hear my sisters soft voice saying that. His timing is perfect. His will is our hiding place. Lord Jesus keep me in your will!
Don’t let me go mad by poking about outside it.
You see we just need to look at what God has given us for the situation – act on it and trust Him.
Thirdly we have to move.
You can’t stay where you are.
EX 14:15 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16
You have to move on.
Imagine if the Israelites had stayed there.
The Israelite survivors would have gone back into slavery.
But they didn’t “They moved on.
Michah chapter 6 MIC 6:8 He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
You see to be a man or woman of faith it involves movement:-
and to walk humbly with your God.
You can’t stand still in your circumstance and you can’t look back.
Just as the Israelites did not profit by looking at the Egyptians and Lots wife for that matter, did not profit by looking back at Sodom so you will not profit by looking at the injustice before you.
Move on in the purposes of God.
Christians are on a journey.
If you are not moving forward with God then you are faltering in your faqith.
Get moving.
Hudson Tayor once wrote after many years of hardship and suffering in ministry:-
“ I trust, if it is the will of God,” he wrote to his parents, “that… I may be spared to labour in China. If not, all is well. I am very happy in Jesus. Never before have I felt Him to be so precious a Saviour, Lover, Friend. Sometimes I think I may not live to see you; sometimes I hope to be spared to lavbour long and more earnestly than ever for China. All, all is known to Him who needs to know all… and He will do all things well.
“ Do not think me selfish. I do sorrow for the grief my removal would be to you and to my dear,l so dear wife. I would fain live for your sakes. But Jesus is so lovely, so precious! Aqll must sink in comparison to him..
He wrote this while ill and it became evident that a voyage to England ws the only hope of saving his life.
You see we have to move into the purposes of God.
That is what Moses did and that is what we must do.
I found an amusing but poignent story on Sermon Central it is from India. :-
The small village needed food, so two men from the village were elected to go to a nearby town for the much needed supplies. The men boarded the canoe and paddled across the lake that separated them from the city where they were to purchase the food. They spent the day purchasing the list of items and loading the boat. Among the items they bought were four bottles of wine. The sun was going down when they finally made plans to row back across the lake. Feeling like they owed themselves something special the men uncorked two of the bottles of wine and sat down for some refreshment. As they consumed the wine a fog settled in on them and the lake. Undaunted by the darkness and the fog, the men began to row for home. They rowed all night except for those times they stopped to drink from the other two bottles of wine. When the morning sun dispelled the darkness and dissipated the fog, the men realized that although they had been rowing all night they had made no progress. Why? They were still tied to the dock.
The Indian pastor then made his point. "Some of you haven’t been making any progress in life because you’re still tied to the dock."
Are we still tied to the dock?
This morning we have gleaned three points from our sermon:-
These are three points that you can apply to your life when you are between a rock and a hard place.
They should help you untie the boat of your life from the wharf and get moving from God.
That is if you apply them!
life is not always fair – expecting fairness can be a mistake.
Assess what you have. You may already have God’s answer in your hand.
Get moving in the purposes of God.
Let us pray.
jgullick@xtra.co.nz
