Growth in the Christian life could be defined by how many of our anxieties, trials, and temptations we keep in the hands of God. By that I mean, we make them all God’s to deal with and therefore none-of-my-business — NOMB.
How do we go about it?
In Exodus 14 we read about the Israelites facing disaster. They had left Egypt but now the Red Sea was before them, there were mountains on either side of them, and Pharaoh and his army were behind them determined to re-enslave them. It was the perfect storm and there was no exit. They were terrified and understandably so.
The Israelites cried out to Moses and Moses cried out to God and God answered him. Moses said to 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. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
Consider, first of all, that humanly speaking the situation was helpless. The Israelites were no match for Pharaoh and his army.
In the same way, we really are no match for our anxieties, trials, and temptations. I think intuitively we know that we are helpless. Our personal history of failure upon failure bears this out. So God’s intervention begins with our awareness of our raw need for help.
Secondly, in their desperate state, they did cry out to Moses and Moses turned to God.
Hence, we have to bring our troubling or tempting situation to God for his help. We need to talk to him straight up about our trouble.
Thirdly, we need to do what we’re told: “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. … The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” The people didn’t panic. They obeyed.
In much the same way, we must resist fear in the name of Jesus.
Then, stand firm. Be bold in God’s assurance that he will handle whatever it is that’s troubling us.
Then, be still. Let God do all the fighting for us so much so that every time it comes to mind we can say, “This trouble, this trial, this temptation is really NOMB. My God is going to fight for me. All is well. I will have nothing to do with what in me is getting all stirred up and I trust him to resolve it.”
