Not too long ago, I was studying the book of Nehemiah and I was just about done with all of my notes and ready to go for Sunday morning when the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to something I’d never seen before.
We were walking through Nehemiah and standing amazed at how he was such a man of prayer. The moment, horizontally, looked bad; the moment when trouble came upon him. But he was not a reactor, he was a responder. He would receive what was happening and go instantly vertical to God in prayer. But the fascinating thing in the book of Nehemiah is he didn’t just pray and then go passive. He didn’t just pray and then wait for God to do something.
He was a man of action. He prayed and he moved forward.
And then it hit me, and the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to this: The two accounts of the crossings by the nation of Israel. The first crossing was, of course, the parting of the Red Sea. This represents salvation. This was deliverance from Egypt, the land of bondage. The Israelites journeyed to the Red Sea, the Egyptians were hot on their trail and they had nowhere to go. So they cried out to God in prayer and God miraculously parted the Red Sea, and they journeyed through to safety.
Fast-forward 40 years. It’s time for another crossing, this time into the River Jordan — the promised land, the land of milk and honey. This is not a reference to salvation. This is a reference to sanctification. This is a reference to living with God by faith. Likewise, they had to cross the River Jordan and so they prayed, but they didn’t wait for God to part the River Jordan. This time they stepped foot into that river and then it parted.
I was stunned by what the Holy Spirit showed me and I hope it stuns you today. When it comes to salvation, like the Red Sea, God does it all! We respond in faith, but God does it. We get no credit for salvation — it was all of Him. But when it comes to our walk, we likewise pray, but we must step forward in faith. We’ve got to put our foot into that river for God to part it.
I think the message is very clear — the Christian life is not a life of passivity.
There is no such thing as “let go and let God.” It’s “pray and persevere.” It’s “lift up to the throne of Grace and then go live.” It’s “make your petition, move forward and watch what God does.”
My friends, move forward with Christ. William Carey said it so well so many years ago: “Expect great things from God, but attempt great things for God.” Move forward by faith beloved, and watch what He does. And let the world stand in amazement at what He accomplishes in and through you, by faith.
