Greatest show on earth

Do you recall going to the circus? The big tent? All the weird and funny things you would see? What was your favorite thing to watch? Perhaps you enjoyed seeing the elephants, or perhaps the lion tamer, or perhaps you would much rather ride the rides that traveled along with the circus. The circus has often been labeled, "the greatest show on earth". The marketing idea was to communicate to the general public that you had never seen anything else like the circus, anywhere. It was a unique show, and it seemed like every time you went, there was something new that you had not seen before. It's funny how quickly we get bored as human beings. There are some examples in Scripture of God's people getting bored. The circus came into town, distracted people from their boring, routine life and gave them some excitement for a few days. Distractions are just like the circus, a show. The show comes and goes. Distractions in our spiritual lives can be devastating.

In Exodus 32:1, the people of God grow impatient and bored with Moses' time with God. It was taking Moses so long to get down off the mountain, that they told Aaron that they wanted to see a show. Aaron gave into their demands. He made them a golden calf and they partied! They had a show. This show was short-lived, and it was devasting to their spiritual life and it cost about 3,000 of them their physical lives. The people of God and their leader took their eyes off God for a moment and they became distracted and bored. This distraction led them to sin, and cost them dearly!

God's people can not afford to take their eyes off God. We must remain focused not on the "great shows" in life, but on the Great God! How do we remain focused on Him? We spend time in His Word daily, we spend time with Him in prayer, and we guard against being distracted from this time alone with God at all costs! What is your routine of spending time with God? Has that routine become boring to you? Don't allow the enemy to distract you from the vibrant, abundant relationship Christ wants to have with you. Commit to make your personal time with God the "greatest time" on earth!

Seashells on the seashore

My only living grandparent is my grandmother named Poo (there is a story behind her nickname). Poo is 94 years old. One of her hobbies when I was growing up was hunting for seashells. She would walk along the shoreline and look for unique, colorful, and complete shells. She could spend hours upon hours hunting for that perfect shell. She would take these shells home to clean them and she would make art out of them. Every piece of art she made had a story behind it. She would tell where, when, and how she found those particular seashells. Growing up, I really didn't appreciate her art like she did. If I'm honest, that is the way I probably treat some of the great work done by God.

Exodus 14 tells the remarkable victory of God's people over the Egyptians. The Israelites have fled Egypt and God performs a miracle and parts the Red Sea to allow them to escape the pursuit of the Egyptian army. Just as the Israelites get across the sea, the Egyptians start their pursuit on the same dry bed, but soon God releases the water and drowns all the Egyptians. Exodus 14:30, "That day the LORD saved Israel from the power of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore."

Read that verse again. Let it sink in. God saved His people from the power of the Egyptians. Slavery ended for them that day. Fear ended for them that day. Their kids saw the very people that their parents were in bondage to, die. This power that had such a hold on them, and looked so impossible to ever get out from under, came crashing down in an instance. Who could ever defeat this great army? GOD. Let it sink in. Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Let it sink in. They saw faces, they saw tools used to destroy enemies, they saw chariots. The people of God saw human warriors and their tools of the trade lining the seashore. Are you getting a mental image? God destroyed everything and everyone and then washed it up on the shore for His people to catch a visual. Why?

Let it sink in. I think that was His purpose. How quickly we can forget that we serve an Almighty, All-Powerful God. God can accomplish anything in your life. God can go to battle against your greatest fears, your greatest nuisance, your greatest bondage, your greatest mountain and not only conquer it but wash it up on the shore so you can see it DEAD, GONE for yourself. The people broke out in a song right after that visual. It was a group exercise in praising God. What has God conquered in your life? Praise Him today for that victory. Share with others your story of God's great art that you have seen on the seashore. In what area of life do you still need to see God's victory? Pause right now and give that area to the LORD, proclaim Him as your Victor and allow Him to fight that battle for you!