Worry within the Red Sea Walls
God recently reminded me that the Israelites were a little worried within the walls of the Red Sea, but they kept putting one foot in front of the other. The fact that Pharaoh’s Army was behind them kept them moving forward.
After God showed me this, I thought about my own life. I realize that I too am worried within the walls of the Red Sea. I don’t want to turn back because there is nothing but slavery in the context of my past, but I’m a little fearful that the present, majestic “Red Sea” walls just might come down on me any minute. Regardless, I won’t turn back. If the walls fall down on me and consume me – so be it. At least I will have died while believing in God, living by faith, and walking to the Promise Land. It’s still a better fate than to shrivel and die slowly in captivity. I conclude then, that I have no choice, but to keep putting one foot in front of the other in faith.
It is so blasted scary out here though! I have to stay in a faith-frame of mind. If I allow my mind to wander for more than a half a second, fear consumes me, I am frozen in my tracks, and I contemplate turning back. I am continually slapping myself with some faith. I am continually reading the Word, quoting scriptures, and telling other people about my mighty God, encouraging them (and in so doing encouraging myself). I am continually telling God that, regardless of how I feel, I will live and walk by faith. I tell God this a lot so that I can hear myself say it – a lot. People think I have a lot of faith. I may have. I tell them, however, that I am simply desperate for God to deliver me. I think desperation is an essential part of being able to truly, truly, truly live by faith 24/7!
Think of the Israelites as they walked between the tall, mighty, majestic, shark, fish, and whale filled walls of the Red Sea. In the past, I’ve thought of how awesome it was for them to cross the Red Sea and step into the Promise Land. Until today, however, I never stopped to think what might have been going through their minds as they saw an evil looking shark swim within the wall right next to their arm, or how they felt when a huge whale stopped and looked at them straight-on. When you think of the Israelites as people just like you and me (rather than people from history that you read about in the Bible) with feelings, hopes, fears, and pains – it makes it a little more real. Put yourself there for a moment. Well, you don’t have to put yourself in that exact place. You can think of the context of your current struggles, and you can tap into your own faith journey.
Right now, I bet you are wondering if God is truly going to deliver you or if you are going to die trying to escape a certain situation. Me too! Sometimes I wonder if all the hopes and dreams God has given me will actually happen to me this side of Heaven, or if I’ll simply (and still beautifully so) receive them in Heaven. A big part of me wants some of them to happen here on earth because I’ve waited a life-time for them. Another big part of me wants them to happen here on earth because I’ve told so many people about them that I don’t want to look like a “fool.” I want people to say, “See, she always said God would deliver her – she was right.” I’ve been called a “fool, a dreamer, a romantic, and weird.” Have you? Have you been judged because you live by faith – not logic? Has it caused you to shrink back from your faith?
But my righteous one will live by faith. And if they shrink back, I will not be pleased with him. Hebrews 10:38
Faith, not logic, gave Moses the strength to hold up his staff and watch the Red Sea part. If he had been living by logic, he would have stood there and said, “Well, there’s no way out of here, logically.” Hey, maybe he did say that, and after he realized that logic would land them all in graves, he raised his staff and called out, “Abba Father,” and that’s when the miracle happened!
As you and I both, today, walk within the walls of the Red Sea, let us proclaim victory because we had the faith to step between two mighty walls where sharks and whales swim 1 cm from our free flowing limbs as we put one foot in front of the other in faith. Regardless, we won’t turn back because we KNOW that the walls WILL NOT fall down on us and consume us! Faith is about having a little fear, but stepping out onto the invisible ground that God has prepared for us. It is better for us to live in Christ and to die to self anyway.
To live is Christ and to die is gain [!]
It’s a much better fate than to shrivel and die slowly in the captivity of the world’s doubt anyway. I conclude then, that we have no choice, but to keep putting one foot in front of the other within the walls of the Red Sea as we march onward towards the Promise Land!
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.
“I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea. The Lord is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name.
Kristina Seymour loves to encourage and equip women through the Word and through community. She is the author of The Warrior Mom Handbook, The Warrior Mom Leadership Manual, and The Warrior Wife Handbook; they are available at Amazon.com. Kristina's Bible studies are for women who desire to live by faith in the midst of their everyday lives. She has learned that women can't survive on caffeine and animal crackers alone; women in the Word and in community are united and able to stand firm. To learn more about Kristina, please visit her website, https://kristinaseymour.com/. God loves to share His story of love and grace through us all, and Kristina believes that everyone has a story to tell.
Originally published Tuesday, 07 April 2020.
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