Moving Forward

For years, I was nervous to make homemade bread.  I was afraid it would be too difficult, too time-consuming, I'd mess it up and my bread would be more brick than anything else.  Then someone gave me a sourdough starter and I gave fresh homemade bread a try.  I don't mean to brag but my bread was amazing!  I began to see myself as a Betty Homemaker and let me just humbly say, I was astonishing!

Often we hit points in our lives when we want to take a step forward, but we're frozen.  We fear one step forward will mean three steps back.
In Exodus 33, we read that Moses encountered one of those points.

          Moses said to the Lord, "You have been telling
          me, 'Lead these people,' but you have not let me
          know whom you will send with me.  You have
          said, 'I know you by name and you have found
          favor with me.'  If you are pleased with me, teach
          me your ways so I may know you and continue
          to find favor with you.  Remember that this nation
          is your people."
          The Lord replied, "My Presence will go with you, 
          and I will give you rest."  (verse 13,14)

Moses teaches me a couple of things about moving forward.  First of all, I have to trust what God has already told me.  I need to wholeheartedly believe, no doubting, that He loves me and that He knows my name. I am His child, God's precious Princess Nancy.  Second, I need to learn God's ways and who He is.  I don't need to learn a list of rules to obey, or guidelines to follow.  I need to get to know God Almighty, the King of all kings, Creator of the universe.  The best thing about this is that God wants me to know Him! It's enough to cause a girl to dance! The third thing I see is that God understands what I'm feeling,  He gets the fact that I'm a little hesitant at times to take those steps moving forward.  The Lord tells Moses, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."  I can just sense God telling Moses, "Don't get all worked up.  Don't freak yourself out with worry and let fear overtake you.  I'm going to be with you the whole time."  God promises to be by Moses' side the whole time he steps out and forward. Wow! The last thing I see is that God gives rest.  Moving forward doesn't have to be as hard as I make it sometimes.  That doesn't mean it'll be as "easy as pie," whatever that means!  It does mean that Sovereign God will give me inner peace as I branch out into new ventures, whatever they may be!