Quote from Forum Archives on August 24, 2010, 11:32 pm

Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>

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The Burning Bush Devotional
Welcome to the 1097 new subscribers since January 1, 2010!!
There were 1367 new subscribers during 2009!!

08.25.10

Sitting it Out

The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this
wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number,
from twenty years old and above. Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and
Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I
would make you dwell in. - Numbers 14:29-30.

Can you imagine a nine day traffic jam? It has been taking place on a
highway going to Beijing, China. Reportedly, the traffic jam is nearly over
caused by road work but traffic is backed up into Inner Mongolia and into
the province of Hebei. We have our share of traffic jams here in the United
States, and I have sat in a few for more than an hour but can you imagine
nine days? There must be some really cranky people sitting in those trucks
and cars! While they have been sitting out everything they usually do they
still have to live. There have been complaints about inflated food prices.
They have been at the mercy of whoever will bring them food and water,
sitting, and sitting, and sitting for nine days!

In our spiritual lives sometime we are forced to the sidelines by God. The
Children of Israel had this happened to them after they refused to go into
the promised land after the majority report of the spies. For 40 years the
Children of Israel were sitting on the sidelines, and it was a forced sit
out. They were forced out of spiritual action because of their complaining
and unbelief. Jonah had a briefer period that he was forced to sit out after
his rebellion against God. Jonah sat in the belly of the great fish for
three days and three nights until he finally repented deciding he would do
what God wanted.

In other situations the Bible records those who through no sin of their own
are forced to the sidelines. Joseph of the Old Testament is one of those
individuals. His brothers sold him into slavery, and he was taken to Egypt.
He rose to prominence in Potiphar's house until Potiphar's wife lied about
his attacking her. Joseph was then sitting it out again this time in prison
until finally through his interpretation of dreams (Joseph makes clear the
ability was given to him by God) he is again placed in the action. God uses
Joseph to save the people of Egypt and his own family. Joseph says to his
brothers at the end of the narrative in Genesis 50:20, "But as for you, you
meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about
as it is this day, to save many people alive."

Are you sitting it out? Is it because of sin in some form? Rebellion,
complaining, grumbling, or immorality of some type? If so I urge you not to
go the route of the Children of Egypt wandering around in the wilderness for
40 years. Instead, repent quickly, even quicker than Jonah did and move
forward with your life. The best way to handle sin and avoid sitting out the
spiritual action is to immediately confess and forsake it asking for the
Lord's forgiveness.

Then there is the possibility that you have been sitting it out because of
reasons unknown to you like Joseph. You are in a holding pattern, and you
are waiting, and waiting, and waiting. Trust the Lord because He means it
for good. Take advantage of the time to better prepare yourself for the
challenge that He has ahead for you. Remember Isaiah 40:30-31, ".those who
wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings
like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not
faint." And as the apostle Peter says in 1 Peter 5:6-7, ".humble yourselves
under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all
your care upon Him, for He cares for you."

Copyright © 2010. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
on a non-profit basis with source credited. The Burning Bush website has
been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998 the email version of the
Burning Bush Devotional was first sent. Ed Wrather began writing devotionals
in the early 1990s. The distribution of these first devotionals was
primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to prison facilities
throughout the United States and Canada.

Many prayer needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer
Request page. You can also post your prayer requests there and they will be
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