Psalm 46:10 has always spoken powerfully to my heart. It reads "Be still and know that I am God." When I read it, my mind recalls the flight of the Hebrews out of Egypt. God had led them to the edge of the Red Sea then put it into Pharoah's heart to pursue them and destroy them. With Egypt's army on one side and the sea on the other, the Hebrews had no where to run and nowhere to turn, except to God. Moses, with God's rod in his hand, admonished the Hebrews for their unbelief and said to them "Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord!"

These passages and others like them teach us an important lesson. God shares His glory with no one. He will not do for us what we can do for ourselves. He delights in the impossible. In fact, I believe God brings us to places, like the Hebrews, where we are at the end of our own wits and abilities. He brings us to the place where we are forced to turn to Him. Because, it is in those places where we are totally dependent on Him. And I believe He loves that.

The hard part in all this is that God knows when it is time to intervene. We are almost always too impatient. The Bible says He never puts more on us than we can handle. But sometimes (I confess) I find it amazing how much He thinks I can handle.

But that is when God comes through. Doing it like this increases our dependence on Him and grows our faith about what can be done. God will stretch us. But He is a loving and perfect God. Everything He does is ultimately for our good. And that is good to remember.