Between the Sea and the Oncoming Army
Parents, have you ever allowed your kids to get into a sticky situation; or perhaps you have intentionally placed them in a difficult situation, so they could learn an important life lesson? Have you ever found yourself between a rock and a hard place? Have you ever stood in fear and forgot what God had promised or how He had worked in your past? Take a moment and think of a situation in your past or present where you seemed to see no way out.
Even in recent days, you may have faced a financial crisis due to fluctuation in the stock market, a loss of a job, or a decrease in pay due to COVID-19. It may be that you are in the middle of a custody battle, an attack on your character, or you are feeling alone while you are standing up for truth or standing against injustice. Keep those situations in your mind and it is through that lens that I encourage you to see what God has done in the past with a specific challenge that we all should take as a next step.
Exodus 14 describes a situation in the life of Moses and the children of Israel where God put them in a situation for a specific purpose. God has promised to lead them by a pillar of fire and cloud. I have often imagined how magnificent and reassuring that must have been to see a physical manifestation of God’s presence leading a group of people. Doubt and uncertainty entered the story when God intentionally circled the people back around to pin them between the sea and the oncoming army of Egypt.
Imagine their fear, uncertainty, anger, and doubt at the faced certain death. At that moment they were forced to trust God as He was committed to displaying His glory for all to see, especially the army attempting to thwart His plan. With that back story in mind, let’s now flash forward into 2020.
Scanning the horizon of tomorrow there is absolute uncertainty over our future as a nation. Threats on religious freedom, fight for life through racism, and giving voice to the unborn, political posturing, and an ongoing health crisis all intertwine to create a cataclysmic storm.
If we allow the situations of the day to pervade our thoughts we will certainly be left in the fearful position of the Israelites and relinquish to a gloom and doom mentality. Consider however that the God that parted the sea is the God that will start a new work now in His people.
The purging and pruning may be painful and persecution may even be in our future, but we must continue to look to God and trust Him for what is next. Our next will be filled with His promises, His presence, and His position in us defining our future. The bottom line is that we can trust Him as we look to Him and strive to bring Him glory.
