1-26-15. Exodus 14: 15-18. It Is Time To Get Out Of Our Ruts And Make A Move-my devotional

 Exodus 14:15-18                                                               Kevin E. Jesmer

Key verse 14:15                                                                1-26-15

“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.”

In this passage we learn how a person, or a group of people, can get out of a rut and experience deliverance from an impossible situation. Look at Exodus 14:15-18, “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. 17 I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.”

The Lord began their movement to freedom in five ways….

First, stop crying. In verse 15 God asked Moses, “Why are you crying out to me?” From God’s point of view the time of complaining and grumbling, by the Israelites, was over. The time for obscuring hesitation with prayer was over. It was time for the people to begin their move. But, oh how hard it would be! Our complaints and grumbling have validity. We like to linger in hesitancy. But there is a time in life, when we just have to stop complaining and hesitating and thank God and decide to move forward by his command. Getting stuck in a rut, because of complaints, is never the answer.

Second, it is time to move. The Israelites just could not just stand their twiddling their thumbs. They needed to move and move now. If they refused, they would be destroyed. This reminds me of the Jesus’ commands to the disciples in Acts 1:9-11 which reads, “⁹ After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. ¹⁰ They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ¹¹ “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” The disciples had just spent time with the Risen Jesus. They were commissioned to be Jesus’ witnesses to vast, dark, wild and dangerous world. They didn’t know what to do. They hesitated. It was a very scary command to obey. The angel asked them, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky?” (11a) It was like they were saying, “Why are you standing around, hesitating like that? Get yourselves together and go and be my witnesses. Go now!”  But they needed to obey it and obey it immediately. The welfare of the whole world was at stake. The birthing of the Christian church was at stake. Their own spiritual lives were at stake. The disciples needed to stop looking up into the sky and do what God called them to do.

Third, the servant of God needed to stand up, inspire and lead. Moses was commanded to take his stand, obey God and lead the people in God’s way. God told Moses to raise his staff. God would work through this act of faith to divide the water and lead the Israelites through on dry ground. Moses didn’t calculate thinking, “What good is my raising my arm and staff going to do? I am an old man. My arm is going to hurt.” He stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind. Moses just did it by faith. God calls some people to stand up as leaders. Their task is never easy. But God will strengthen them to embrace difficulties.

Fourth, trust the Lord. God would harden the Egyptian’s hearts with prideful self-confidence, and they would follow Israel into the sea–to their death. God would be glorified in victory. Essentially, God would work, psychologically, in the minds of those who sought to destroy the people of God. If we are ever going to get out of a rut, we need to trust God to work on all fronts, even in the hearts of our enemies.

Fifth, take the first step. The Israelites had to step into the Red Sea. The time to stand still was over. It was time to move on in obedience to God’s command. This was so difficult to do. The sea was ahead of them and the Egyptian army was advancing from behind. Terror struck their hearts. The wind was blowing, and there was a wall of water on the right and on the left. Even though the way was open, it took faith to walk into the sea. Maybe the walls of water would collapse. They overcame their fear by faith, and they crossed the Red Sea on dry ground (14:21,22). It was all by faith in God. (Heb 11:29).

They learned a spiritual secret of obedience through this whole event. Obedience to God is the way to freedom and deliverance and disobedience is the way to destruction. It is that simple. Coupled to obedience is trusting in the Lord always. They learned to march forward at God’s command even though the circumstances looked impossible. It revealed their faith and their trust.

Everyone has a Red Sea to cross. We must see the way God’s hand open the way, and cross all of our Red Seas by faith. This goes for individuals and for a nation.

Always remember, it is not all about our decisions and our obedience. There is the overflowing grace of God. It is our natural tendency to not trust God. We don’t want to take that step into the unknown, even if we are told it is the best way and only way, by God himself. We don’t want to stand up as a spiritual leader so others may be inspired to obey.

But God is gracious. He is knows and understands our weaknesses. He is forgiving. He is right there with us to inspire; to infuse us with his life giving power. He is the vine; we are the branches, receiving his life into our souls. By his grace leaders will take a stand. By his grace people will listen and obey the Lord. By his grace God’s people will take the first step into the unknown. By the grace of God they will be delivered, despite their weaknesses. God will lead us through every Red Sea until we meet our final Red Sea, death. God will lead us through this also, all the way into the eternal Kingdom of God.