Posted on July 14, 2023 Posted By: HCCCategories: journey
Heartland Community Church
THE JOURNEY
How to Follow God When You’re Afraid
By Lisa Zulke
This week I’ve been immersed in the story of Miriam and Moses and the exodus from Egypt. Throughout their story, we see both fear and bravery, doubt and confidence. As enslaved people, they longed for freedom. When freedom came, it likely didn’t appear as they expected. No time to pack, arrange animals for transport or plan. Grab what you can carry; we must leave NOW. No direct route to the promised land but a wandering, bushwhacking, unmarked hike through the desert wilderness.
Life can feel like that sometimes, can’t it? Uncertain where we are headed or what the journey will require. We grab what we might need and take off in the direction we sense is best to go. It is disorienting and requires us to draw on our reserves…tenacity, faith, grit, and trust.
As I head to Colorado for the women’s adventure retreat, I feel both brave and fearful. Our adventure is nothing like being enslaved, promised freedom, and sent into the wilderness to receive it. But there are lessons in the posture of Miriam in particular that I hope grow in me over this next week.
Think about Miriam. A female leader in that era was rare. She led her people in worship and, alongside her brothers, led them across the Red Sea, watching the Egyptians chasing them be consumed by the waters once the Israelite people were safely on the other side. One fascinating detail of her story has intrigued me…what she grabbed to carry into the wilderness. A tambourine! If I were told to flee for my life, to escape being enslaved in Egypt and go who-knows-where for who-knows-how-long, I don’t think I’d grab my tambourine. My logical brain would ponder how we would eat, prepare the food, hunt, and stay alive. Many tools might come in handy on this sudden journey. But a tambourine?
I might consider it, laying there on the table. I might pick it up and include it in my hand-fashioned pack. I am a notorious over-packer…but I also have a decision matrix to narrow down what I’ve laid out and eliminate the fluff. The tambourine would be left behind if I were escaping.
To Miriam, however, that tambourine was deemed valuable enough to carry into the unknown as she ran from slavery. I’m curious about her why…and we can only imagine that. So I imagine Miriam knew the road ahead would be long, dangerous and hard. It was almost as if she knew there would be a time in the middle of this wilderness experience that God would show up. Almost as if she had faith that there would come a day the people would NEED to celebrate and praise God for his rescue. And so, she carried her tambourine as she ran. Imagine that celebration on the shores of the Red Sea?!
I’m convicted by the thought that, in a much different world, with the wilderness seasons I face, I don’t enter them with a posture of expectancy. I want to. In my head, I trust God will provide. In my heart, I hedge my bets, consider backup plans, and add hope on the backside that he will also come through.
This week, I’m trying on a new posture. Holding fear and hope at once, and assuming first and above all that God will provide in every unknown. I’m mentally carrying my tambourine. How about you? Is your tambourine nearby? Can you find a posture of expectance that God will show up, no matter how complex your current season is? What have you learned from Elijah and Miriam this week?
The Story of Elijah
What is the story of Elijah about? For context, watch as our friends from the Bible Project explain his life and the surrounding events in this summary of 1 and 2 Kings.
Elijah fears for his life and flees into the wilderness. When have you feared your circumstances? Have you ever had to run away or escape a situation? How did you look for God in the midst of that hard time? What is one thing from the message this weekend that you will remember the next time you are fearful?
First time through: What do you notice about Jonah? What do you notice about his circumstances and the other characters in the story?
Second time through: Look for the presence of God in Jonah’s story. Where do you see it? Where do you see opportunity for Jonah to reach out to God?
Third time through: What is God saying to you, through this story and the things you are noticing? Where in your story might there be opportunity to involve God? Where are you hedging your bets and keeping God at arms length? Consider one thing you are willing to do about the things you’ve learned this week, and share it with a friend.
{extra journey resources}
CLICK HERE to visit The Bible Project site and explore their super simple, super informative Bible videos (and other resources). You can also download The Bible Project App HERE.
CLICK HERE to get the Read Scripture App, from our friends at The Bible Project.
CLICK HERE for more on how to use the observe-reflect-apply approach to getting the most out of your Bible reading.
The Bible App Get the free YouVersion Bible for your phone, tablet, or computer. Experience the Bible anywhere, with options to highlight, save notes, and share what you are reading with others.
The Bible App For Kids YouVersion partnered with OneHope to develop the Bible App for Kids, designing it specifically to engage children with Bible stories on an age-appropriate level. The Bible App for Kids is a free app for Android, Apple, and Kindle devices, available in over 60 languages.
Bible Gateway Provides advanced Bible searching capabilities, which allow readers to find passages in scripture based on keywords, phrases, or scripture reference.
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