Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days eat bread without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in that month you came out of Egypt. No one is to appear before me empty handed.
Celebrate the Feast of Harvest with the first fruits of the crops you sow in your field.
Celebrate the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field."
The Lord specifically said these festivals were to be celebrations. For the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Israelites were to celebrate by remembering how God has rescued them from slavery. For the Feast of Harvest, the Israelites were to celebrate God's abundant crops He had provided. For the Feast of Ingathering, the Israelites were to gather up what The Lord had provided and press on.
As I study this passage, I am overwhelmed by its relevancy to me thousands of years later. I am going to be very honest, surrendering is HARD. There is a difference between needing to surrender and wanting to surrender. We all need to surrender, and we all need God. Frequently I find that this need is my fuel instead of my wanting for The Lord. Sometimes I don't want to surrender when it's hard or not beneficial to me. When I read this passage in Exodus, The Lord directed me in the importance of the purpose of these feasts:
We must 1) remember all of what The Lord has done for us, 2) recognize His provisions all around us, and 3) regroup to press on. This is how The Lord wants us to act when we 'don't want' to surrender.
REMEMBER all of what The Lord has done for us. I was able to reflect this week in Haiti on what The Lord has done. Reflection of what He has done for all mankind, what He has done for me personally, and what He has done through the ministry of Children's Hope. He is the Almighty Savior and Redeemer who humbled Himself to love us sacrificially. Keeping our eyes on Christ is a decision we make through the power of God, so that we may be constantly reminded of who He is and that we are His. Not only has He saved this world by grace, but He has held me and led me with mercy. I mess up so much, yet His mercies are new every morning. He has blessed me beyond compare with things I could never have imagined. One of the greatest examples of this is the heart for Haiti He has given me. He has redeemed me, loved me, and used me for His glory alone. This week has been a time of remembering how far God has brought Children's Hope. August 2010, there were 16 children living in a tent. February 2015, there are over 40 children being nourished in Christ's love, 8 schools full of children whose health has remarkably gotten better with the feeding program, and a medical clinic was opened on Thursday. (I was with a medical team this week, and God's power throughout the past few years had produced fruit that we were able to see this week.) To God be the glory! You cannot look back and remember what God has done and not stand in awe.
RECOGNIZE His provisions all around us. This week I recognized His provisions through relationships. There are no words to describe how grateful I am for the relationships I have because of Haiti. From neighbors to staff to the children to translators to missionaries, The Lord has taught me, molded me, and blessed me so much because of these relationships. I see His provisions in that he has given so many Haitians hearts to serve others and love Him with all of their hearts. I see His provisions in that His mercies are new every morning. I see His provisions in that He gives me today my daily bread without fail. You cannot look around you and see God as the great Provider and not be encouraged in faith.
REGROUP and press on. This is the most important step of surrender. This is the plan of action. This is the release. This is the giving up of situations you can't control and the giving up of your selfish desires. This is where you step out in faith. This is the 'scary' part of surrender, and that's why it's the last. We have seen God's power by looking back and have seen God's provision by looking around, so we know He is more than trustworthy. We can trust Him with our hearts, with our lives, and with those we love. We can trust Him.
Surrendering can be so hard. Sometimes I feel like I have to surrender to surrender. Sometimes I feel so guilty for my inability to surrender. My Dad gently reminded me that this guilt is cheating God of His grace that He longs to show me. God reminds me that His awesome power lives within me. Colossians 2:9-10- "For on Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority." And He calls when we answer and when we cry for him to fill us up. Psalm 81:1&10- "Sing for joy to God our strength... I am The Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it." So let go of what you're holding to hold your Heavenly Father's hand and open your mouth wide. God is in control in everything. God has everything in control with each of us, and He has everything in control despite corruption and darkness of Haiti. He is in control, because He has the whole world in His hands and loves His people more than our hearts have the capacity to comprehend.
I could go on and on to list the reasons logistically why surrendering is so important. However, I think Hebrews 11:6 explains it best and Haitians constantly remind me of it with their constant joy, tender love, and passion.
Hebrews 11:6- "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him."
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