Wilderness Crossing

In my Bible reading this morning, I read from Exodus 14, the passage where Moses leads the Israelites from Egypt out into the dessert.  As the Egyptian armies bear down upon them, the Israelites begin to gripe and complain.  “Why didn’t you just leave us where we were in Egypt?  It’s better to be slaves to the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness”.

I am reminded again as I read this familiar story, how much we today can be like the Israelites.  I am like the Israelites.

We all have “wilderness” experiences in our faith walk.  Those times when like the children of Israel, we wander around in the desert seasons of life.  It’s dry.  It’s lonely.  It’s cold in our hearts.  When the enemy starts to bear down on us, we too panic.  We long to go back to slavery, where it seems simpler to just not give a rip, than to have to be a warrior for God.

But as I reread these verses, I am reminded that we are NOT slaves any longer.  We have indeed been freed from the bondage of the enemy’s rule.  We forget too often that God is on our side, watching out for us.

The Israelites saw first hand God’s amazing power and strength as he tore back the waves of the Red Sea to provide a dry pathway for His people to walk through.  That’s in His character.  He ALWAYS provides a path.  While we’re in the midst of our wilderness though, as we look around at the dry, arid surroundings, we often miss that He is there, preparing us and readying that path of escape.

When, like the Israelites, we take courage and follow Him; we find that path to safety.  We wake up one day and find ourselves “on the other side” and it feels amazing.  I know this from personal experience as I reluctantly at first (like the Israelites) stopped my griping about things and followed Him through my wilderness.  By trusting Him, I found the most amazing peace and freedom that I’ve ever known.  Sure it was a laborious journey.  I won’t lie… some days it was downright brutal, but to know the sweet peace of Jesus.  That “Promised Land” is as sweet as honey.

I can’t help but think of what would have happened had the Israelites dug in their heels and decided to not follow Moses through the Red Sea.  I believe that they too might have been swallowed up in the Red Sea.  For sure, they would have missed out on the awesome experience and display of God’s glory along that path of the Red Sea floor.

At the end of today’s passage in Ex 15:2, these words stand out to me.  It is a song of praise from the Israelites from the other side of the Red Sea.

The Lord is my strength and my song; He has given me victory.
This is my God, and I will praise Him – my father’s God, and I will exalt him!

The Israelites unbeknownst to them had just passed the first of many “wilderness” experiences.  Many more were ahead of them, as is true in our lives.  We won’t reach the true “Promised Land” until Jesus returns and takes us Home.  But oh what sweet victory we can experience when we keep our eyes focused on The One whom will safely lead us there.