Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and chariot drivers. At the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. He clogged their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, ‘Let us flee from the Israelites, for the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.’ Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers.’ So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the Lordtossed the Egyptians into the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.
In the fall of 2008, I went backpacking with one of my best friends while we waited for bar results (we both passed!) It had been a dream of my grandmother’s to go to the Holy Land, and while she never made it, I was able to backpack through Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Turkey (and additionally Morocco, Spain, Greece, and India).
We actually crossed the Sinai Peninsula and climbed the Stairs of Penitence of Mt Sinai, and spent the night along the banks of the Red Sea in thatched roof huts at a dive resort. The diving in the Red Sea is fabulous, by the way. I’ll never forget how at night, you could see the lights of Saudi Arabia across the water-I’m pretty sure I even saw an elevator for a hotel or apartment building traveling up and down through the night. I felt that night that it was so strange to be so close to another country, yet too far to cross by traditional means (never mind that we didn’t have visas to enter Saudi Arabia at the time, so we couldn’t exactly row across).
I listened to a podcast recently that compared how we feel during moments of intense upheaval and storms in our lives to how the Israelites must have felt crossing the Red Sea. They’re scared, tired, and all of a sudden they’re at a dead end with a rushing sea in front of them. Then the walls of water are risen up a few stories high, and surely the winds must have been extremely loud. It probably felt chaotic rushing as fast as they could to get to the other side with the Egyptians so close behind that they were eventually drowned by the water.
But they made it safely to the other side, and not only were they safe, but the danger had been extinguished. They didn’t have to worry about it coming back after them, and even though it was terrifying, they relied on their faith and Moses relied on his faith to enable them to cross.
What if after you read this devotional, you gave your biggest worry over to God? It’s scary now, the winds are blowing loudly, and the path forward looks crowded, chaotic, and virtually impossible after initially appearing to be a dead end. But what if, like the Israelites, you’re able to pass across safely with your danger extinguished once you cross? Trust God to deliver you.
Musical Reflection- Wade in the Water - Eva Cassidy
Dear God, today I give you my biggest worry, and I know that you will guide me through the scariest parts of this journey. Just like you delivered the Israelites, I know you’re going to deliver me a way where I don’t see a way. I trust you, and I give it over to you. AMEN.
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