Rescue at the Midnight Hour

I’ve been reading the little book, The Red Sea Rules, by Robert Morgan. As I read about the Israelites’ adventure in the desert, I envision millions of men, women, and children facing their life or death situation.

The waves of the Red Sea lapped on the shore before them as the sound of pounding horse hooves grew louder and louder behind them. Fear overrode faith when the Egyptian army came into view.

Scripture says, “The people began to panic, and they cried out to the LORD for help” (Exodus 14:10).

Then they turned to Moses and began questioning his leadership.

“Our Egyptian slavery was far better than dying out here in the wilderness!” (Exodus 14:11).

It’s a gross understatement to say their situation appeared beyond hopeless.

Midnight intervention

The midnight hour was about to strike. And God intervened at 11:59.

I’ve seen God do that time and time again. Here’s one example. A couple of years ago Gene and I were scheduled to teach in the Middle East. We had to raise all the necessary funds for our flight, our accommodation, and our food. We had to book the flights well in advance—long before we had the funds in hand—and doing so stretched our faith.

Once we booked our tickets, we were committed to going. No turning back even if the funding didn’t fully come in before boarding that plane. Three days before our flight, we were still underfunded.

The midnight hour was fast approaching. God intervened at 11:59.

It happened on a Sunday, after church. Gene and I stood up to leave and, to our surprise, saw a man with whom he often played soccer. They’d never had a personal conversation, so Gene didn’t know that he was a believer. To date, this was the first and only time we’ve seen this fellow in our church.

His wife was with him, and as she and I talked, we realized that we had several mutual friends. They invited us for lunch, and we had a delightful time. Before we parted ways, the wife said to me, “I feel like God is telling me to donate toward your trip to the Middle East.” She wrote a cheque on the spot, and that cheque covered the shortfall.

Life being what it is, you and I will face Red Sea experiences

The waves lap before us, and circumstances push us closer and closer to the water’s edge. Fear can easily override our faith. The midnight hour approaches. We call to God for help, and then we panic.

Honestly, I wish God had a better sense of timing. Why doesn’t He show up at, like, 9:00 or 10:00? Why does He wait until 11:59 when the situation looks hopeless?

I suspect God waits because He wants us to experience His amazing power. We view difficulties as obstacles, but He sees them as opportunities for us to watch Him accomplish what appears impossible. He views them as opportunities for our faith to grow so we’ll learn to trust and not be afraid. To rest rather than panic.

I’ll admit it—I sometimes wish God’s timing suited mine,  but I know deep down that His is perfect. He’s never early but He’s never late either. The midnight hour comes, but He’ll show up at 11:59. And He’ll do it in a way that will leave me in awe. Again.

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