The Red Sea, Real Life, and God

When Gene and I committed to launching International Messengers Canada, we began making plans to move from Quadra Island to Abbotsford. We had exactly one month to find suitable and affordable housing, sort and pack our household, unpack and settle in our new home, and then board a plane for Slovakia.

Oh yeah… our daughter’s wedding and my trip to Atlanta for a publishing convention was in the middle of all that.

Every time I thought about what needed to be accomplished in such a short period of time, I felt like I was facing an impossible task. I figured that’s how Moses probably felt as he stood on the shore of the Red Sea with several million people depending on him for their well-being.

God, You’ll get us through this, right?

Some days I felt like saying, “I can’t do this,” but I refused to succumb to those negative thoughts. I knew that ours was a God-given assignment, and He would somehow make a way through the Red Sea. And so, every time a tinge of panic threatened me, I’d grab hold of my thoughts and say something like this:

We will not drown; we will cross safely to the other side. Right, God? I can’t see a way through, but I know You’re able to part the waters. So please part them now, okay?

God answered. He parted the waters, so to speak, and accomplished every detail so we could do what He’d called us to do.

Sometimes we face circumstances that loom before us like the Red Sea. Our situation seems impossible, and we’re certain we’ll drown. But wait! What does God’s Word say about the Red Sea? Here are some encouraging words:

¹⁶When the Red Sea saw you, O God,
its waters looked and trembled!
The sea quaked to its very depths.
¹⁷The clouds poured down rain;
the thunder rumbled in the sky.
Your arrows of lightning flashed.
¹⁸Your thunder roared from the whirlwind;
the lightning lit up the world!
The earth trembled and shook.
¹⁹Your road led through the sea,
your pathways through the mighty waters—
a pathway no one knew was there!
²⁰You led your people along that road like a flock of sheep,
with Moses and Aaron as their shepherds” (Psalm 77:16-20).

Did you notice that these verses say God led His people through the sea, through the mighty waters? The Red Sea totally intimidated the people, but it was nothing for God to make a path through the middle of its waves to lead His people to the other side.