A Way Through The Red Sea

Exodus 14 is such a powerful chapter. If you grew up in church you can probably remember your Sunday school teacher using images and drawings to tell the story of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea. These bible stories blew my mind away as a little girl. I would sit down and imagine the scene and ask my teacher questions like, ‘How did the water stay like a wall?’ , ‘were the Israelites not scared that the water could accidentally fall on them and that a big fish could eat them?’, and ‘how long did it take them to cross the red sea?’. ‘Was the path muddy? Did it make their shoes dirty?’. My little mind would race with so many questions.

Now that I’m older I have fewer questions when I read Exodus 14. Rather, I am challenged and ask myself ‘Do I believe that God can part the Red Sea?’. The Red Sea represents what to the human eye may look like an impossible, hopeless situation for which you simply don’t have a solution. The Israelites were trapped and were sure it was over this time around. But let’s take a step back and look at how Moses responded when the Red Sea appeared to be the obstacle that would destroy the Israelites at the hand of the Egyptians. 

First of all, Moses demonstrates great faith when he obeyed God in verse 1 of Exodus 14 where God commands him to lead the Israelites to camp by the Sea. God didn’t give Moses all the details. He just said that He will get ‘glory over the Egyptians’. In verse 10 we see the response of the Israelites when they realized that the Egyptians were close and were trying to attack them; they ‘feared greatly’. This fear led them to criticize Moses for even taking them out of Egypt. But we must learn from Moses. He responds calmly and encourages them in the following verse:

13 Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord. The Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.

Some of us are in the phase before the Red Sea is divided. According to Moses’ response, there are three things we must do:

1. Fear not

Fear is the killer of faith. In the Book ‘Sow Your Seed’ I write about the seed of fear and its toxicity. A well-known acronym for fear is False Evidence Appearing Real. When fear troubles our hearts we begin to imagine the worst-case scenarios as our realities. The first command that Moses gives is that they should not fear. The next two exhortations cannot be taken on when fear overcomes our hearts. Fear can be likened to a dark room. Regardless of how hard you try, you will not be able to see anything in the room or perform any activities in the room until the darkness in the room is removed and replaced with light. Don’t allow fear to paralyze you. Instead, accept the peace and faith God is able to give you as you come to Him when the Red Sea stands before you.

Philippians 4:6-7 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

2. Stand firm

It takes faith to stand firm. Once fear is dispelled, faith can take over and enable you to stand. The posture of standing is one of patience. Notice, it doesn’t say sit or walk. It says stand. When one sits they are in one sense relaxing, and when one walks they are very much active, but when one stands it’s almost as if they are waiting. Standing takes strength and is a posture that captures reliance on God. I am reminded of Psalm 27:14: 

‘Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord’

3. See the salvation of the Lord

Then we are told to see the salvation of the Lord. We simply watch God do what no man can do! He makes a way where there seems to be no way. All we have to do is see. God does not need our help to make a way through the Red Sea. But you can see the salvation of the Lord when you overcome fear and stand firm. We all want to see the salvation of the Lord when we encounter obstacles and it is our first prayer request when faced with trials. But overcoming fear and standing firm need to be the main focus. This will lead to victory in ways you don’t expect. 

So, what can we learn from these three steps? If you put all your strength and energy into figuring out how God will make a way, you will not have the strength to overcome fear, to stand firm, and to see the salvation of the Lord. In verse 12 of Exodus 14, we see how the Israelites responded when they realized that the Egyptians were chasing them. The fear they experienced was a result of looking at the situation and concluding that God could not make a way out of it this time around. They witnessed how God fought for them with the ten plagues, but yet, fear overtook their hearts.

If you put all your strength and energy into figuring out how God will make a way, you will not have the strength to overcome fear, to stand firm, and to see the salvation of the Lord. Click To Tweet

Many of us can recall how God saved us from difficult and unbearable situations in the past. When we remind ourselves of how God saved us in the past, it dissipates the fear, weakness, and lack of hope we may face in our current circumstances. So like Moses said, regardless of what you may be going through today: Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord.