Walking by faith, harder than it seems....

 Tell the people of Israel to turn back and camp across from Pi-Hahiroth near Baal-Zephon, between Migdol and the Red Sea.[a] 3 The king[b] will think they were afraid to cross the desert and that they are wandering around, trying to find another way to leave the country. 4 I will make the king stubborn again, and he will try to catch you. Then I will destroy him and his army. People everywhere will praise me for my victory, and the Egyptians will know that I really am the Lord. Exodus 14:2-5

Walking with God and trusting Him after tragedy is hard.

In my dream this morning I thought of the former slaves of Pharaoh in the sands of the desert and how frighten many of them must have been; especially when they were asked to turn back and camp between the Migdol and the Red Sea.

On one side was the promise land, filled with mild and honey and everything good God had promised them and on the opposite side was certain death at the hands of the Egyptian troops.

It must have been incredibly difficult for these former Hebrew slaves to be told to sit and wait. Wait for what? To be slaughtered? Many probably thought it would be better to walk back, with hands up, and resume their lives of drudgery, physical pain, and death. Many thought 'what's the use' because God is just going to leave us again.

When God parted the Red sea many of them were once again scared. After all, they were desert people who had never really experienced water. Many were afraid of going through the water because of the fear of drowning.
 Yet, they had no choice. 

On the back side they could see the Egyptian's army  approaching them. They realized that if they chose to stay they would all die. They had to trust God enough to believe that as they were walking between the walls of the Red sea that the wall of water would not close in on them.

Walking they  did.

If you can imagine for a second that it was your family that was walking and running through between these  two walls of water and how frighten you became when you saw these huge fish swimming behind the curtain  of water and thinking, 'what if God doesn't hold back the water until I get to the other side--we will all die.' 

A momentary thought pops into your head to just turn around with hands up and resuming life as a slave again.

But you keep going forward toward the land promised you. 

As you get closer  to that promise land you sense that the Egyptian troops were now between the two standing water. You  could hear the the wheels of the chariots going faster. The sound  of their horses trots was enough to sicken you.  You  had this uncomfortable feeling that they  could see  the glimpses of your people and in their mind they would claim victory in the name of Pharaoh. 

Then it happened.

Just as the final Hebrew slave made  it on dry land the two walls of the Red sea collapse on the Egyptians. You could hardly believe it. You realized you just witnessed God's miracle. He indeed rescued you just as he said he would.

Our minds, it seems,  are have difficulty seeing the things of God. Fear seems to be our greatest strong hold that keeps us from trusting. 

Especially after tragedy when you have all  sorts of troubling thoughts circulating in your mind. 

Yet, God's promises are true for us today just as they were in the days of Pharaoh. 

Whatever has happened to you God wants to demonstrate in your life miracles and he wants to use your redemptive story to bring others into God's kingdom. 

One more thing. 

We have the gift of the Spirit of God that was given to us after His son, Jesus Christ, ascended into heaven. Today, God is using His church to help you learn   to walk by faith. Trusting is simply placing one foot in front of the other and honoring God every Sabbath day!

God truly isn't  going to let go of you.