Now imagine being in those same circumstances yet also knowing that God has promised you He would lead you to safety.
Would you trust Him, even though the circumstances say “impossible?”
Or…would the circumstances distract you from the promise of God? Would you allow the circumstances in your life to dictate where you are going and exactly how far you can go?
I recently spoke on the Israelites, specifically when they came out of Egypt and were standing before the Red Sea. With the tumultuous sea before them, Pharaoh’s army not far behind them, mountains to the south and an Egyptian fortress to the north, they literally had no place to go that would offer them safety. Unless of course you consider in the fact that God, the creator of the heavens and the earth, was on their side.
When the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, they crossed over on dry land. When they first approached the Red Sea, it was deep, wide and very frightening. God took all night to dry up the land. Do you think many people slept that night? Have you ever stopped and thought about what that must have been like? Picture this with me, they step out onto the dry seabed. On one side of them the water was 3000 feet deep, on the other it was 5000 feet deep. The opening, or the distance between the two walls of water, was ¼ to ½ mile wide. Approximately 3 million people needed to cross a distance of 10 miles. It took 14 to 18 hours to cross, and I’m pretty certain they were trying to get across as quickly as possible!
Have you ever been in a crowd? Have you been in a crowd that was fearful? Have you been jostled, pushed, or knocked down? Can you imagine being on the outskirts of that group of people crossing the sea and being able to reach out and touch the wall of water? Most likely there were those who were pushed into it as the crowd tried to cross as quickly as they could. Some may have brushed their shoulders up against it.
I cannot imagine the fear they must have felt. Not only were there two giant walls of water, but also the Egyptian army was close on their heels. Their sea was tremendous. Sometimes I fool myself into thinking that because they saw the huge miracles that God performed, all the plagues etc., they would have had supernatural faith and never doubted for a minute that God was going to do exactly what He said he would do. I have to look no further than myself to understand that just isn’t true.
Me? Yeah, I’m not there yet. I’m doing better than I used to do. But, I still doubt. I see God’s miracles in my life on a daily basis. He provides for us, blesses us more than we can ever deserve, yet, when it gets tough, I still doubt He is going to do what He says he will. It’s not that I dwell in the land of doubt, but I still visit it on a regular basis. Often times I question myself, and remind myself of everything God has already done. Usually that does it. Usually that brings me out of the land of worry and trepidation. I’m looking forward to the day that I trust Him immediately. I’m hoping I get to that point some day, that I won’t look at everything in the natural and see impossibilities all around me.
How big is your sea today? Is it deep? Is it wide? Is God drying the seabed? Or is He asking you to step out into the water? How far will you go for Him? How much will you trust Him? Up to your knees? Waist high? Chest high? Neck high? Will you tread water for Him if He asks you too? How far will you swim?
I cannot look back in my life and see a point that He left me high and dry. I know that my God loves me and knows what’s best for me.
I’m going to choose to trust Him to have His way with my life. How about you? Will you trust Him to get you through your sea?
