The Red Sea Experience
Exodus 14 tells us a very powerful story of God's intervention in the history of his people. We have the house of Israel who just left Egypt and are now encamped along the sea. Then here comes Pharaoh and his chariots and horsemen and troops approaching. The house of Israel had no where to run. They were caught in the middle of the sea and Pharaoh. The house of Israel was now terrified because they faced sure death. Their choice was to die by the hands of Pharaoh or die by drowning in the Sea.
In the confusion they heard the words of Moses, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."
Then Moses raised his staff and stretched his hand over the sea. And a strong wind came and the house of Israel saw the angel of the Lord moved from the front to the rear - separating them from Pharaoh. The wind then blew all night and then the Lord drove back the sea and turned it to dry land. The Israelites passed through the dry land to safety.
This experience revealed to the Israelites the power of God over nature. They saw another dimension of the Lord and this stuck in their minds.
In our Christian life, we too will have our own Red Sea experience. There will be times when for no fault of ours we get caught in a no hope situation. In these times, what do we do? Do we find a way out?
I have very often been caught in such a situation. The first thing that comes to my mind is - what made this happen? Maybe I discerned wrongly and now this is the result. But time and again, I have learned that we never make a mistake as long as an act was done after deep and careful discernment. So there is no such thing as wrong discernment. God will always lead us to his will. "All things work for the good of those who love God and for those who are called according to his purpose."(Romans 8:28)
Once we get this into our minds, we look at our situation differently. It is not anymore what I want but where the Lord wants me to be or what the Lord wants me to do. And if our prayer at these times is for the Lord to reveal what he wants us to do, he will surely show it to us. If after careful prayer and discernment, we find the Lord leading us to a path that seems impossible, then all we have to do is stand firm and wait. For if it is God's will God will intervene and nothing can stop it from happening.