Jessica Albritton, NextGen Minister LHBC

Exodus 14:10-14
When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

There is a good chance that you, like myself, have felt the sting of disappointment in life. Maybe you’ve been let down or betrayed, gotten a bad diagnosis from the doctor, your plans are unexpectedly cancelled, a relationship is strained, you feel as if your back is against the wall. When we face a tough situation it is so easy to feel helpless, hopeless, maybe even a little panicked. The feelings surface and the next thing you know you’re saying things you regret, making unwise decisions, and often turning away from God instead of towards Him. 

In the book of Exodus chapter 14 the Bible records the Israelites right after being released from slavery at the hands of Pharaoh. The Israelites are in the desert, finally free, and to their horror they turn around to see Pharaoh’s army pursuing them. He had changed his mind. Stuck between the Egyptian army and the Red Sea the Israelites start to panic. They are so worried they even cry out to Moses asking why he brought them out of slavery in the first place. Many get upset and claim it would be better had they remained enslaved than to die in the wilderness. 

Moses responds to the panicked Israelites in verses 13 “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will work for you today.” Other translations put it “see how the Lord will save you”, “watch the Lord rescue you”, and “watch and see what the Lord will do.” I often wish I had Moses’ faith and confidence in the Lord. These words are full of anticipation and complete faith in God but there is no direct indication in the text that Moses knew what exactly God would do. He assures the Israelite people that the Lord will work all things out but he didn’t know how the Lord would do it. Moses might not have had all the answers but he had faith in the one who did, and still does. 

To the surprise of the Israelites God did do a mighty work that day. A few verses down we see God command Moses to raise his staff and the Lord parts the Red Sea for them to all cross through safely. All throughout the Bible we see this truth that we can trust the Lord and His faithfulness. Psalm 62:5-6 states, “For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.” We may not know how things will turn out but we can wait upon the Lord with complete trust and full confidence. As a follower of Christ we are called to walk by faith and wait upon the Lord, even in the times of uncertainty. Simply put, our job is to remain faithful, God’s job is to work out the details. No matter how seemingly hopeless a situation may seem we are called to “watch and see what the Lord will do.” So let’s do that, let’s watch and see what the Lord will do. Who knows… we may just see a miracle! 

PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Heavenly Father, thank you for being a God that we can place our trust in. You are so faithful to us even when we are not always faithful to you. Lord, help me to rest in you today. Help me to keep my eyes on you and trust in your goodness regardless of the situation or circumstance I find myself in. In Jesus name, amen!

MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK:
1 Peter 5:10
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.