EXODUS 14:8-14 – And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while the people of Israel were going out defiantly. The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon. When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
THEME OF THE DAY. WHEN WE ARE MOST TEACHABLE AND DEPENDENT. Let’s start today’s nugget with a look into our past; a look asking the question, “When have we been most teachable before the Lord and most dependent upon Him?” Take a mental trip through our walks with the Lord and remember times our sensitivity to the Lord and dependency on Him were the sharpest. As we do, first identify the seasons in life when we were the least sensitive to Him and our dependency upon Him not really challenged.
The most dangerous spiritual time for Christians is not in a crisis, like this pandemic. No, the most potentially damaging time in the lives of believers is when things are well. We are prone to drift into spiritual indifference and rely less on the Lord when life is relatively easy; we face few difficulties; we have no glaring needs unfulfilled, and we do live mostly on our own with little spiritual sensitivity and dependency toward the Lord. Beware of spiritual drifting when “the seas of life are calm.” More Christians backslide in times of ease than in seasons of great trials. And that leads to the positive lesson of the day – when are we most teachable and dependent? It is when we find ourselves like God’s people in today’s scripture. God’s people are fleeing Egypt. Pharaoh finally wore down and said, “Get outta here”, but then, he has second thoughts and the pursuit is on. He wants his slaves back. And he means business. Pharaoh doesn’t send a small search party to overtake the Israelites to bring them back to Egypt. The scriptures read “The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army.” Imagine being in the band of Israelites looking back over the horizon seeing a huge cloud of dust coming at them. Someone in the back of the pack yells, “It is Pharaoh and he looks mad!” Then one in the fearful group yells, “Run for your life, Take your family and hide!” But where would they go? They are on the shores of the Red Sea. The only place to hide or get away would be an airlift or submarine. God’s people were cornered Nowhere to go. No help within themselves. No way out. All they had was God. And that is exactly where God put them! Total reliance and dependency upon Him. If God doesn’t come through, they are doomed.
Friends, this is where God will take us; to places where self-sufficiency, self-reliance, and human wisdom are worthless. Why? To teach us where our strength, protection, and deliverance are truly found – in the Lord alone, and Moses would point this out to them – And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
When God puts us in impossible situations, don’t rebel or try to take control, submit. God is doing a great work in us. He is teaching us about Himself and where our help truly lies – Him and Him only. Be teachable. As we learn these hard lessons, we will come to love Him more for all He is and has done for us in the impossible circumstances of life.
PRAYER: “Father, thank You for being so patient with me as You teach me Your ways in difficult times.”
QUOTE: “God will place us in situations we cannot control, change, or get through on our own to teach us about Himself.”