‘As the deer pants for streams of water so my soul pants for you, O God’. (Psalm 42:1) he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. (Isaiah 43:16,19 NIV)
Ive recently sat through the DVD series on The Bible and watched the films The Ten Commandments and Exodus: Gods and Kings with varying degrees of enjoyment and frustration.
Leaving aside the filmmakers spin and stripping the story back to its Biblical roots the point that really impressed on my mind is that God will make a way where there seems to be no way.
The Israelites were slaves in Egypt for 430 years with no prospect of freedom until God intervened and through a series of miraculous plagues provided a way out of bondage.
Then as they fled they reached a dead end with the sea in front of them and the armies of Egypt behind. With no way back and no way forward, God does what God does best – The impossible. He opened the Red Sea and provided a way of escape.
In Isaiah 43 the prophet foresaw a time when the Israelites would again be captives to their enemies. With the Babylonian exile in 586 BC Israel spent many years in exile and the great question for them was Is there a way home?
It was to people feeling completely hopeless that God stepped in and spoke by reminding them that He makes a way through the sea.
He was reminding them of their past deliverance when it seemed like there was no way out, and He was assuring them that he is able to make a way in the wilderness for them.
He was going to do a new act of deliverance for His people (V.19)
I wonder: are you facing a difficulty that for you is as great as 430 years of slavery? Do you feel caught between Pharaohs armies and the Red Sea? Do you feel abandoned in exile?
If so, God is saying He can make a way for you too.
No matter how bleak things may seem, cling to God and have faith in the One who can do anything.
Whatever difficulty you might be facing today be it financial, a troublesome relationship, a bad medical report, or anything else know in your heart that God can make a way through the trial for you.
Lets remember Moses inspiring words to the Israelites on the bank of the Red Sea: Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today…The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still. (Exodus 14:13-14)
What Moses said then is true today.
While we learn from the past dont stay there (V.18); know that God is with you today and tomorrow.
He will fight for you; you simply need to be still in His presence and see the way open up.
Prayer
Father thank you that you often work in ways I cannot see to make a way for me. Always be my guide and hold me close to your side as I trust you for my deliverance.
Amen.
Have a good week being still in the Lord.
Pastor Barry
