It’s cold here in the Ozarks. The streets are damp, and the leaves are changing. I woke up on this crisp autumn morning to the news that Eugene Peterson is entering his final days of this life. For those of you not familiar with Peterson, his best-known work is a paraphrase of the Bible called The Message. He authored more than thirty other books, too, mostly Biblical commentary. A quick check through the list puts my personal reading at just over a third of them; almost all are on my “essentials” shelf. The Message grew from a small-group Bible study at his first pastorate in Maryland, a small suburban Presbyterian church. There were four people in that group he led in the church basement.

Exodus 14:5-7, 10-14, 21-29 The story of Moses and the parting of the Red Sea. While reading the text several thoughts and memories came to mind. Every time hear about the story one word comes to mind: trust. There is a word that is extremely hard for me to do. After being left down time and time again by family and people who I thought were friends, trust in my life is hard to come by. The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent. The one verse that seems to be screaming at me is verse 14, The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent. Trusting that there is a force greater than yourself to fight for you is easier said than done. Some say that you’ve got to learn to fight your own