Monday, February 1, 2021
A Song in the Desert
“When the people of Israel saw the mighty power that the Lord had unleashed against the Egyptians, they were filled with awe before him. They put their faith in the Lord and in his servant Moses” (Exodus 14:31 NLT).
The Israelites were finally free. They’d left Egypt and Pharaoh behind, and they were making their way to a new land. But soon they arrived at what looked like an insurmountable obstacle: The Red Sea.
To make matters worse, they realized the Egyptian army was chasing them (which, by the way, was the mightiest army on earth at the time). As a result, they took their eyes off God and put them on their enemies.
They went to Moses and said, “Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren’t there enough graves for us in Egypt? What have you done to us? Why did you make us leave Egypt?” (Exodus 14:11 NLT).
Then Moses began to pray, and God effectively said, “This isn’t a time to pray. This is a time to move.”
God told him, “Pick up your staff and raise your hand over the sea. Divide the water so the Israelites can walk through the middle of the sea on dry ground” (verse 16 NLT).
So Moses raised his hand over the Red Sea, the waters parted, and the Israelites went through the Red Sea. When they made it to the other side, Moses stretched out his hand over the sea again, and the waters collapsed on the Egyptians. Then the people gave glory to God.
The Israelites had their song in the desert. But immediately they went into the wilderness on the heels of this great blessing.
This reminds us that trials often follow blessings. Sometimes valleys come right after our so-called mountaintop experiences.
Yet there are truths that we can only learn in the deserts of our lives. There are things we can only learn in the wilderness.
Our spiritual roots grow deep when the winds around us make us strong, because God’s endgame is to make us more like Jesus.
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