Seas & Armies

This morning I was reading in Exodus about how God rescued Israel as they were escaping from slavery in Egypt.  These verses jumped out at me from Exodus 14:

¹³ Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. ¹⁴ The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

In my heart I said, "Yes Lord- those verses are for me today!"  I continued to read the story of how God purposefully led the Israelites to the Red Sea, and how he hardened Pharoah's heart so he would pursue them with every chariot in Egypt. 

I believe that sometimes God leads us to a place that seems impassible & impossible.  He allows us to be in that place where it seems like there is just "no way", so that he can make a way.  We find ourselves facing a wall of water on one side, and an angry & well-armed army on the other side, with no where to turn & no way to help ourselves.  We are helpless & out of answers.  And it is in that moment that God says, "Do not be afraid."  We are out of resources, we don't understand what's going on or how things are going to turn around and God says, "The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."

Why?  Why does God bring us to those places of impossibility?  I believe it is so His glory can be known & shown to all those around.  There is no way to escape from a powerful army when there is a sea in front of you, and you have no boats.  There is just no way.  No one could survive in that.  Well, no one that is, unless they had a powerful God on their side!  As the Egyptians found themselves in the middle of the Red Sea, trying to pursue God's people, suddenly the army was thrown into confusion & the wheels of their chariots began falling off.  What did they say?  “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt.” (v.25)

Before this God had said, "The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.”(v.18)  God brings us to those places that are impassible & impossible so that when He makes a way for us, it is Him who gets all the glory.  Those places where only a miracle can get us out of, it means that when our God does show up (and he WILL) he gets all the credit!  He gets the glory.  And why is that, why does he want to get the glory?  Look at verse 31:

 "And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant."

If we never found ourselves trapped between seas & armies, we would never know the great power of our God, that he loves us so much, and that he is always on our side.  When he works miracles on our behalf his greatness becomes well known amongst everyone who knows us too.  Our faith is built up, their faith is built up, and we know that "without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."(Hebrews 11:6)

So, you could say that it is God's mercy that brings us to these hard places.  Our heavenly father brings us through impassable seas so we can see that he can do anything and that he loves us enough to never forsake us.  He also loves those who know us & they need to hear from our lives that our God can do anything.

What are the seas & armies in your life right now?  What are the places that seem impassible & impossible?  I know what mine are.  Think about those situations and make sure you worry long & hard & stay up late at night figuring out how you can fix them.  Oh WAIT- no, DON'T do that!  Instead, do this:  
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.

If you already know it's impossible then why waste another moment worrying about it?  The almighty God will fight for you!  Trust him, thank him, praise him, give it to him, and believe him when he says he will fight for you.  Your God loves you & he is ALWAYS at work for your good.  "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11)


Today I am making the choice to trust my armies & seas to the almighty God, and I just wanted to encourage you to do the same.  Even if he doesn't part the sea for me or throw all the chariot wheels off of my enemies, I will still trust in him.  I trust in who he is.  I trust in his good plans for me and those I love.


God Bless You,
Lisa