This Saturday I had the opportunity to go to an event that was sponsored by the NEO Women Team. What a treat to hear Susie Larson speak about being fully alive. I had never heard of Susie Larson before, and she is funny, vulnerable, and engaging.
I must say that I went into the day tired and realized that the Lord had some encouragement for me. I have been pressing into the idea of “surrender” in this season, and these messages spoke to me on so many levels. The first idea that stood out to me was that the enemy at every turn is trying to derail our identity. In those moments, we have two options: passivity or humility. Susie defined passivity as “sitting in our own stuff and not contending for the promises that God gives us. On the other hand, humility is strength that is harnessed. Jesus walked in this kind of humility during his earthly ministry.
Susie referenced the Israelites and their captivity and how we can learn so much from their example. For instance, when God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of their captivity, causing Moses to have a crisis of belief, he learned, as can we, that your identity will work itself out when you go where God calls you.
That first generation of Israelites whom God rescued from slavery got a front seat to what God was doing, yet, sadly, none of them entered the promised land. Why? Fear. Psalm 106:24-26 recounts, “The people refused to enter the pleasant land, for they wouldn’t believe his promise to care for them. Instead, they grumbled in their tents and refused to obey the Lord.”
For the Israelites then and for us now, it’s not hardship that exhausts us, but it’s the narrative we buy into. Will we see our circumstances at face value, or will we take them to the Lord and ask Him to show us Truth in the midst of them? Like the disciples on the boat in the midst of the storm, we have the choice to either whine and cry or we can believe and receive, as Jesus taught them. (See Luke 8:22-25; Mark 4:35-41; Matthew 8:23-27)
Psalm 106:7 says, “Our ancestors in Egypt were not impressed by the Lord’s miraculous deeds. They soon forgot his many acts of kindness to them. Instead, they rebelled against him at the Red Sea.” This verse also gives us insight. Out of the abundance of his mercy our God is a miracle- working God. The Israelites did not remember God’s mercies, nor did they realize that sometimes God’s “nos and not yets” are for our good.
Friends, we have the opportunity to look at every blessing as a gift from God. We can notice Him and His working and anticipate God‘s goodness. Let’s encourage one another to reign in our fear and supersede it with faith in the omnipotent, omniscient, almighty God who is sovereign over all. Let’s remind ourselves that God redeems everything. And let’s put our full trust in Him and be astounded by what He does in our midst!
— Sue M. Lindsey for The Sublime Soiree © April 2025
