Exodus 14:10
And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD.
This Exodus account gives us several powerful insights into the Christian life. Many of the events during the Exodus point to the coming work of Christ, but are displayed by God to a people who did not have the perspective to understand it. We have the privilege of looking back. As God opens the eyes of our understanding, we see how God works in our lives today.
In this account, God had broken the strong arm of Pharaoh so the people in bondage could go free. The Lord called them to follow Him, though He had not yet revealed His plan. God had already shown them how He had the power to deliver them, now He was about to show them that He has the power to protect them. In order for the people to see God’s power, He led them to a place of vulnerability, knowing that Pharaoh would try to recapture them. The Lord led them onto a peninsula where they would be trapped between the sea and their enemy.
The people looked up and saw the pursuing army and knew they had no way to defend themselves. They cried out to the Lord, and when the enemy kept pursuing, they murmured against Moses for leading them out of slavery. “It would have been better to serve as slaves than to die here in the wilderness,” they complained.
What they could not see was that God had already prepared a way. Many feet below the surface of the water, a coral bridge had been growing since the time of creation, and was created in God’s plan for this moment. Then God caused a powerful wind to blow so hard that it pushed the water aside and revealed this way of escape. Then the Bible says, “Take a look at your enemy, for after today, you will see them no more.”
The people crossed over to the other side of the sea while God bogged down the pursuing army. Once they were all safely out of the sea, the wind ceased and the walls of water returned with enough force to wipe out the army that had oppressed them for so long.
We can draw many truths from the Exodus account, but I want to zero in on one particular point of focus. When we follow God, He often does not reveal how He is going to fulfill His calling, and God doesn’t promise us a carefree journey. What He does call us to do is obey the call to go. Ultimately, He will work to get us to the place where we can trust Him, but in our early walk, our faith will be weak. Even so, we continue to follow. We have the assurance that God has prepared the way, long before we were even in the faith. Ephesians 2:10 tells us that God is working to build us up so we can walk in the works He has prepared for us to walk in – and that He prepared the way beforehand.
When you face an obstacle in your walk of faith, you have the assurance that God has prepared the way beforehand. Even if you are faced with hardships that seem impossible, it doesn’t mean that God was taken by surprise. From the foundation of the world, God prepared the path He has placed before you. When the people cried out, God’s answer was to go forward. He said to move toward the deep prior to revealing His deliverance.
This is where Jesus’ illustration of a faith the size of a grain of mustard seed comes into view. Sometimes we lack that confident faith, but we continue to walk with Him, believing just enough to take that next step.
When God called Moses to go before Pharaoh to speak for the people, he was very weak in his confidence. And that is an important part of the principle of faith. God calls the weak to stand in His might. God doesn’t call the mighty to flex their muscles. God places us into a position of weakness so He can show Himself strong in us. God honors the humble.
Moses was so timid that he couldn’t even speak without stammering. He followed God’s call, even though he was terrified to speak in front of others. His work began by whispering in his brother’s ear, and his brother would repeat his words to Pharaoh. But as he continued in fearful obedience, he began to grow into confident obedience. The truth is that you will never be truly confident until you become Christ-confident. Just as Moses was always known as a humble man, we must always remain humble so that we don’t step into pride. We remain in humility as we learn to understand that everything is a gift of God and the work of His power.
Paul said it well when He said, “I will glory in my weakness, for when I am weak, the power of God rests upon me.” As we learn to be weak to ourselves and trust in God’s leading, we will experience the Christian life in the way God intended.
When faced with impossible circumstances, rest in the truth that God has already made the way. We don’t know if God will move our challenges out of the way, lead us through, or reveal an escape, but as we move forward in faith, He will open our eyes to see His plan. This is true, even if that plan is to just take the next step. Then as we see God’s work breaking through, never lose sight that it is God’s work and God’s power that you have been invited into. Not your power, but God’s. You don’t bring your plans to God, but receive them from Him.
Psalms 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.
Trust in His light, even if it’s just the next step lit under your feet.
Eddie Snipes
2024