Streams In The Desert Reading PlanSample

DAY 5

To human reason, what God was promising seemed simply impossible, but nothing is too difficult for him. Without any sound or sign and from sources invisible and seemingly impossible, the water flowed the entire night, and “the next morning … there it was … ! And the land was filled with water … the sun was shining on the water … the water looked red—like blood” (2 Kings 3:20,22).

Our unbelief is always desiring some outward sign, and the faith of many people is largely based on sensationalism. They are not convinced of the genuineness of God’s promises without some visible manifestation. But the greatest triumph of a person’s faith is to “be still, and know that [he is] God” (Psalm 46:10).

The greatest victory of faith is to stand at the shore of the impassable Red Sea and to hear the Master say, “Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today” (Exodus 14:13 [emphasis added]), and “Move on” (Exodus 14:15 [emphasis added]). As we step out in faith, without any sign or sound, taking our first steps into the water, we will see the water divide. Continuing to march ahead, we will see a pathway open through the very midst of the sea.

Whenever I have seen God’s wondrous work in the case of some miraculous healing or some extraordinary deliverance by his providence, the thing that has always impressed me most was the absolute quietness in which it was done. I have also been impressed by the absence of anything sensational and dramatic, and the utter sense of my own uselessness as I stood in the presence of this mighty God, realizing how easy all this was for him to do without even the faintest effort on his part or the slightest help from me.

A. B. Simpson