Miraculous accounts of God’s protection, provision and deliverance for his beloved people fill the pages of the Old Testament. From the 10 plagues of Egypt used to move Pharaoh’s heart to free the Jews from slavery to a small-framed teenager defeating a giant with a sling and a stone, these stories have framed the faith in the hearts of God’s people through the ages.
The pinnacle of the account of the liberation from Egyptian bondage occurs in the 14th chapter of the book of Exodus, when we find the Jews camping by the Red Sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, identified by historians as a place on the eastern border of Egypt, at the northern end of the Gulf of Suez.
The chapter starts by mentioning that God instructed Moses to take the Jews there. While camping at the site, word arrives that Pharaoh had a change of heart and decided to send his entire army after the fleeing Jews. As the people realized that the mighty army was drawing near, fear gripped their hearts, and they started contending with Moses. It was not the first or last time the incredulous people questioned God’s deliverance and protection.
Moses then encourages the people, telling them not to fear:
“(…) Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; (...) The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.”
The rest of the story is well-known. God told Moses to lift his staff and stretch his hand out over the sea. The sea drew back, “and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and their left.” The people walked on dry land, leaving the danger behind.
As the Egyptian chariots started pursuing the Jews through the dry sea, God caused the waters to return to their normal state at daybreak, thus drowning Pharaoh’s army.
The account has many more intrinsic, essential details. Still, at its core, it is a story that has been used for millennia to illustrate one of the greatest struggles in the lives of believers: keeping a strong faith in the presence of danger or when we cannot see our way out of difficult situations.
As I was reading this beloved account for the umpteenth time, two words stood out in the middle of this sentence: “(…) and the Lord swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land, so the waters were divided.”
I imagine the Jews standing by the sea, in complete darkness, fear gripping their hearts as they heard the deafening sound of the chariots approaching. It was right then, in the dark of the night, that God went to work on their behalf. It was while darkness fell, and they were blind to what was ahead of them, clueless of how salvation would come, that God’s deliverance came through.
What a powerful illustration of the life of faith! How many times do we find ourselves in situations where we do not see the way out? Whether our resources are all but gone, or our health is failing, or our prodigal child makes seemingly irreversible decisions, we, like the Jews in the wilderness, cry out to God, fear and doubt crushing our spirit: “Why, Lord, did you abandon us? Are you asleep? Do you not see this?”
But the lesson of the opening of the Red Sea is a reminder to us all — darkness to us is not darkness to God. It was not during the day that he went to work on Israel’s behalf at the edge of the wilderness. He worked “all night,” while fear and dread threatened to steal their peace.
Nineteenth-century author Lettie Burd Cowman illustrates the concept in her book “Streams in the Desert”:
“God was just as much at work ‘all that night’ as he was the next day when the Israelites finally saw the evidence. The next day simply revealed what God had done during the night.”
Maybe you are reading this from a place of complete darkness, where you cannot see your way out or where your deliverance will come from. If that is you today, may this illustration about one of the greatest miracles of all times fill your heart with peace and assurance: God is at work in your darkness, and he is inviting you to trust that his deliverance will come with the morning light.
“My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. He will not let you fall. Your guardian will not fall asleep. Indeed, the Guardian of Israel never rests or sleeps.” King David, Psalm 121.
Patricia Holbrook is a columnist, author, blogger and international speaker. Visit her website www.soaringwithHim.com to learn about her speaking ministry, Bible studies and book. For speaking engagements and comments, email pholbrook@soaringwithHim.com
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