Closing my eyes, I imagine myself in the cool evening air of a desert wilderness. The last few rays of sunshine are beginning to fade into the night as my people and I approach the seashore. We are tired from our trek through the sands, and the children with us grew restless hours ago. With nowhere further to go at the moment, we look to our leader waiting expectantly for the command to set up camp for the night.
I stare at the tower of flame that has gone before us this whole time, and wonder to myself. What incredible things I have seen these past days! I find myself lost in thought as I gaze at the ceaseless flame, its rolling and cracking tongues dancing in the crisp air. But murmurs spreading throughout the crowd interrupt my caravan of thought and jolt me back to reality. Something is not right.
Watching and listening to the people around me, I recognize a state of panic. From the back of the camp comes word that an army has been seen along the western horizon, silhouetted against the sunset. The Egyptians are coming for us. We are trapped!
What must it have been like for the Israelites that night? They had left everything behind for freedom in the promised land, yet at the very start of their journey they already found themselves trapped, pinned in. Dead end. They had followed the LORD and He had led them to a dead end. What was He thinking? What was He doing?
It is easy to be critical of the Israelites. After all the wonders they had seen in Egypt, after all of the plagues, how could they doubt the ability of the LORD? Surely the God who destroyed the powerful nation of Egypt before their eyes could free His people from the desperate situation they now found themselves in at the Red Sea.
In the past, the reaction of the Israelites surprised me. They cry out to Moses, asking whether it was better to die in the wilderness or to die back in Egypt. Bitter? Ungrateful? But don't miss the fact that before this, they first cried out to the LORD. Easy to overlook the first time.
Honestly though, what stood out to me more than that this time was the fact that I am just like the Israelites. Currently I find myself in a situation where I feel as though I have been backed into a corner and have no clear direction where to go next. It seems obvious that God has brought me here, yet as I wait for further guidance I repeatedly question His purposes in bringing me here in the first place. Just what exactly is He trying to accomplish? What is the point of moving me away from one set of circumstances without providing all the stability necessary for the next? What are you doing God?
Haha, yep. Seems I fit right into the role of the Israelites in this tale. It's a little humbling, but I think I'm ok with that, because the best part is what happens next. Despite their doubt and their fear, God intervenes, carrying out His plan as He always intended it. Bringing them into the wilderness and a "dead end" by the Red Sea was no accident. God brought them there to glorify Himself. After 10 plagues in Egypt, He still had one more thing to show them.
And it's a good thing to, because the text seems to reveal that neither the Egyptians nor the Israelites were quite convinced of God's absolute power and sovereignty yet. Though their nation was in ruins, the Egyptians still ventured out to pursue the Israelites. Freed from slavery after witnessing the devastation of the plagues, the Israelites still demonstrated doubts in the God of their Fathers.
But God's purposes were accomplished that day. By the end of the ordeal both the
Egyptians and the
Israelites recognized the power of the LORD, and feared Him.
I don't know God's plan in my circumstances, but I am confident that He will glorify Himself through them. He will reveal Himself and His purpose will be accomplished in spite of me and my fears. With this in mind, I wait expectantly to see what comes next and what "Red Sea" He might take me through.
Labels: Bible/theology, journal/quiet time