The Rock & The Hard Place Daily Devo 214
Word Count: 2,072
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Today’s Devotional Scripture: 4 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord. And they did so.
5 And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?
6 And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him:
7 And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them.
8 And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand.
9 But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon.
10 And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord. - Exodus 14:4-10 KJV
The Message For Today (November 28, 2024):
Audio Version Of This Devotional: The Rock & The Hard Place Audio
From the moment the Lord decreed, “I will harden Pharaoh's heart” to the moment that the children of Israel cross safely into the wilderness. We see a scene being set that looks like the worst possible situation. We see the children of Israel obeying the Lord, going to camp by the ocean. Moments after fleeing the Egyptian slave owners, they were at that ocean and waiting on God when Pharaoh showed up.
But Pharaoh didn't just come of his own accord. This scripture says that God hardened Pharaoh's heart so that God would be honored upon Pharaoh. To get his honor in this chapter of scripture meant that Pharaoh's army was utterly destroyed under the very ocean that God opened up for the children of Israel. He hardened the hearts of Pharaoh and of Pharaoh's servants for a purpose and a plan.
This is the season and this is the time. The Lord has made bare his holy arm and the righteousness of God has gone forth. When you are in situations and predicaments where it seems like you are between a rock and a hard place, bear in mind that God has allowed the difficult situation, circumstances, and obstacles that you are facing right now. He is giving you a challenge, a mission. The faith that he is God.
The rock and the hard place in our lives can be as simple as us waiting for a door to open while another door is closing and feeling very precarious in the middle, waiting on God and many times it feels like it's the worst possible thing. In the cornerstone scripture here in verse 10, it described that the Israelites were “sore afraid”. Sore afraid, meaning terrified, scared for their lives, and ready to run.
Their first response was to cry out unto the Lord. Would they have cried out had they known that God allowed this for his glory and that God would get the victory? Probably not. Nevertheless, the children of Israel lift up their voices and they cry out for deliverance. They cry out to be shifted out of that hard place and into solid ground. In part of this scripture in Exodus 14, we see where the angel of the Lord goes between Pharaoh and the children of Israel.
As the children of Israel were complaining and absolutely terrified of what was happening, God was yet answering their heart's cry in that very moment. In verse 19 of Exodus 14, it states,
19 And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:
19 And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:
20 And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night. - Exodus 14:19-20 KJV
There was no going back here for the Israelites. The Egyptians desired to slaughter them all. Maybe recapture some. For the children of Israel, this is where they were essentially making their stand. They were covered by God and not allowed to go back. And the angel of the Lord kept the Egyptians away from the Israelites all night as they began to cross over on dry land. God has the power to get you out of difficult situations that in many times he has allowed that he would get the glory.
In John, when we see the young man Lazarus, who is sick and dying, and we see this in John 11, the entire chapter is Lazarus being raised from the dead. We see where Jesus waited a few more days. He was told that Lazarus was sick, and instead of coming straight away and making the situation better in a time that made sense to Lazarus' sisters, Mary and Martha, the Lord abided two more days after hearing that Lazarus was sick.
4 When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. - John 11:4 KJV
And of course, Lazarus died. Of course, it seemed like the worst possible situation for him to come later. And he was even questioned by Lazarus' sisters saying, Lord, if he were here, my brother would still be alive. Because they believed in what they could see Jesus do. They believed according to their logic. But that rock and that hard place in John chapter 11 of Lazarus being dead, not one day, maybe not two, maybe, but no, four whole days, so that the body started to stink.
That rock and that hard place were allowed by God. And it was Jesus who commanded the people to take away the stone, so that when he called Lazarus, Lazarus could come forth unhindered. From death to life, from sleeping to coming alive and it was for the glory of God. A lot of the rock and the hard places in our lives are not a punishment, but a testing of our faith. It's not a result of us always doing something wrong. Perhaps it's because we did what was right, what was good, and what was directed by the Lord, that our walk would be a living sacrifice and a holy testament to the glory of God.
That rock and the hard place is a blessing.
That rock and that hard place is a place of deliverance.
That and that hard place in your life, where you feel like it's almost done, that it's over, that you can't go any further, and that maybe, just maybe, this is the end for you. It is in that moment that God is faithful to get his honor. He will be glorified. Your faith to walk out those very difficult and almost impossible situations is what glorifies God.
Your faith in the rock and the hard place is what honors God. The fact that you know, despite the fact that it looks impossible, you know that God is able and you command the atmosphere to respond to the glory of God, and you know that God is able to speak to your mountains. Things begin to shift when your life becomes that demonstration for God. When you see things begin to move because the Lord allowed it. When you see that rock ant that hard place, and in your heart, you may be terrified, but out of your mouth, you command the atmosphere to shift because great is your God and great is his faithfulness.
That is when God can begin to make you a miracle, can begin to use you as a demonstration, and can begin to break down those walls between you and your Jericho. He can begin to open up the oceans between you and your liberty. He can begin to split the river Jordans in your life that the enemy has tried to keep you from crossing over for decades.
The rock and the hard place is the blessing of the Lord. It is where we are acquainted with his might and power. It is where we see the hand of the Lord be magnified. It is where we see that it is not our will that is going to be done, but it is ultimately the will of the Father that precedes before and overwrites any kind of low thinking and low thoughts that we have. For remember, the Bible decrees, my thoughts are not your thoughts and my ways are not your ways. And so in Isaiah 55 verse eight through nine, it states:
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. - Isaiah 55:8-9 KJV
God knows what he's doing. He knows where you are. It is not a surprise to Him and may have, it has already been allowed that it may fortify you and increase your faith unto the glory of God. This morning, put your concerns before the Lord and with thanksgiving, bless him. Bless him for the hard places, bless him for the rough, and bless him for making ways out of no way.
Closing Devotional Prayer
My prayer for you” Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank you. I thank you that the grace and glory of God is going forth like never before. I thank you that every mountain is coming down and that the will of the Lord will go forth steadily, that the will of God will go forth with power, that there will be nothing that stops it.
When this mighty woman of God finds herself in a rock and a hard place, wondering how this is ever going to be fixed, wondering how God is going to do it, I pray that her heart would turn immediately and that she would recognize the sovereignty and the blessing and the favor that is between the rock and the hard place. Where the sovereign Lord, our God is able to do what he said he would do, for he is not a man that he should lie, nor the son of man that he should change his thinking or change his mind.
Lord you are good and your mercy endures forever. I thank you, God, that we're going to begin to have the mind of Christ, that we will not be overwhelmed with the things of this world, but we are going to be transformed by the renewing of our minds through the word, through the worship, through our study of the scripture, through our fasting and prayer and praise. We are going to see it, for eyes have not seen or ears heard, nor entered into the hearts of men, the things that you have for they that love you.
I thank you, Lord God, for breaking down every wall, for breaking down every hindrance, for having things at the ready. Lord, I give you glory, hallelujah, for the impetus over the mighty woman of God, for the grace and glory of your spirit over her and over everything that concerns her. Lord, I thank you that the Kabod will rest on this mighty woman of God, and that there will be a breaking of everything that's not like you, oh God.
Everything that is hindering will break. The rocks will be moved, the stone will shift, and the rock and the hard place will serve your purposes for your glory. For God, you will have your honor. I thank you, Lord, and I pray in Jesus' mighty name, Amen.
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