There come those times to all of us when we find ourselves facing a crisis in our life and we don’t know what to do. And it always seems that at that moment the crisis seems to grow larger and the clouds get darker. I was reflecting on that this morning and the Lord reminded me of something that He had shown me, which I have written about previously. It was a good reminder, especially as we see the clouds getting darker all around us as the days to His return continue to march forward. Let me put it in perspective by a very familiar part of history from the Old Testament.
As Israel fled from Pharoah and his army they came up to the obstacle that apperard to spell their doom… the Red Sea. And before Moses even began to follow the Lord’s command, the Lord began to act:
Ex 14:19-20 And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. 20 So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.
While Israel faced their challenge, God was working behind the scene to prepare to deliver the message Israel desperately needed to hear, and part of that preparation was to stave off the enemy. Note that the Angel of the Lord had been there all along, He (I capitalized His name because He is called The Angel of God; Jesus?) didn’t just show up at the last moment to put up the pillar of cloud. God had never ceased leading His people from the moment He told Abram to get up and move out. Note the last part of that verse… so that the one did not come near the other all that night. God wanted Israel’s full attention on Him and not on Egypt because He had someting to show them. Here is the lesson for us…
Ex 14:21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided.
All of Israel believed that Moses had led them into certain destruction. You can bet their eyes were not focused on the shining glory of God behind them. There they were, listening to a roaring wind all night long and looking at the towering walls of the raging, parted sea. Think about that. God made them wait in the midst of roaring chaos all night long for the miracle of their deliverance. All the while He kept the enemy at bay so Israel would be forced to come to the conclusion that their only salvation was in God… not in Moses. And His message was… Wait!
How many times have we faced a crisis with the wind of chaos blowing all around us? How many times have we failed to remember that nothing happens to the bride of Christ that has not been brought about or allowed by God? How many times have we thought the “dark” night would never end? And perhaps we feared the action the morning would require of us, just as all of Israel must have feared trusting the Lord that they would safely go through the parted waters.
And while all of this was going on, the restraint of Pharoah’s army by the pillar of light and dark (think about that one for a moment) and the howling wind all night long, the Lord was calling on Israel to trust Him. At the same time He was using the wind that night to prepare for His deliverance…
Ex 14:22 So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
Their feet never got wet, and if we trust in Him He will not let our feet get wet either, no matter how high the waves appear to be!
When we are faced with a crisis that is beyond our control, the Lord wants us to remember that He is not only dealing with the enemy, the chaos and the solution… He is building up our faith in Him. And each time we come to a Red Sea in our life, the waves will be just al little bit higher and will require a little bit more faith. We need to remember that in every situation we find ourselves, as children of God, He is always acting on our behalf, no matter what it looks like. And He always gives us an anwer… a way to move forward forward. We just have to learn to watch, listen and … wait!
And what about the enemy on our heals? Well that dry ground that Israel walked on was of no use to Pharoah’s army…
Ex 14:24-25 Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the Lord looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He troubled the army of the Egyptians. 25 And He took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.”
With God we can always count on the fact that if we follow His lead, there are never any loose ends!