Florence Chadwick was the daughter of a San Diego policeman. She started swimming at the age of six.
When Florence was 34, she got into the icy waters of the Pacific Ocean, determined to swim from Catalina Island to the shores of California.
The weather that day was unfriendly. The water was ice-cold—and infested with sharks.
The fog was so thick that she could hardly see the support boats behind her. She also swam against the current.
After swimming for fifteen hours, she began to doubt her ability. So, she told her mum, who was in one of the boats, that she couldn't make it.
Her mom and trainer knew she could. So, they continued to encourage her.
When she stopped swimming, they pulled her out of the water. Then, she realized the shore was less than half a mile away.
She said: All I could see was the fog. If I could have seen the shore, I could have made it."
Can you see the other side?
MARY couldn't see herself having a child without a man. So, she asked: How can this be since I do not know a man?
The Holy Spirit will come to you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you." (Luke 4:34-38)
The questions you ask at the outset will help you plan. The ones you ask at the end will help you understand.
MOSES understood certain things when he left Egypt. He knew the Hebrews were enslaved—and they needed rescue.
But he did not know how—Moses could not see the other side.
Your questions at the onset will help you plan
THERE can only be future improvement by unsettling the present.
He had to return to Egypt to rescue his people.
FOR CERTAIN things to change in your life, the heavens must intervene.
And for the heavens to intervene, you must pray.
God knew his people were suffering. To end their pain, he appeared to Moses in the burning bush.
My prayer is that God will send help whenever you need it.
TO MAKE them experience Him and not walk around miserable, God gave them proof.
He told them to worship when they left Egypt. (Exod. 3:12)
Worship aligns your being with God.
WITHOUT the Will of God, we are left with the Will of Men. The first leads to life, while the second leads to death.
They were the people of God who needed to know the plan of God.
So, God sent Moses to share his plan with them.
My prayer is that God would show you His plan for your life.
Worship aligns your being with God
GOD PROMISED to strike Egypt, but the Hebrews would find favour with the Egyptians.
He planned to transfer wealth from the Egyptians to the Hebrews.
So, God asked the Hebrew women to ask their Egyptian neighbours for silver and gold jewelry and clothes. (Exod. 3:22)
God did not want them to leave empty-handed.
THROUGH salvation, our past is forgiven, our present has meaning, and our future is secured - Rick Warren.
The best way to eliminate your past is to involve God in your future.
Moses got rid of his past as he obeyed God in the present.
To the people who saw him as a murderer, he became their deliverer.
SOME FRIENDS will only follow you once they see miraculous signs. (Exod. 4:1-8)
However, there are enemies of your soul who will not stop fighting unless they see miracles.
Pharaoh did not let the children of God go until he saw signs and wonders. (Deut. 6:22)
I pray that God will do the same for you.
To eliminate your past is to involve God in your future
SOMEONE'S EPITAPH reads: As you are now, so once was I. Now, you are sure to be, so may I say, as I lie, prepare yourself to follow me.
And someone scratched the underneath and wrote: To follow you, content until I know which way you went.
We know the way you went - Pastor Taiwo Odukoya (Senior Pastor of the Fountain of Life Church).
You did not quit; you saw the other side and are with God. We salute you, General! Till we meet again.