“Then the Lord gave these instructions to Moses: “Order the Israelites to turn back and camp by Pi-hahiroth between Migdol and the sea. Camp there along the shore, across from Baal-zephon. Then Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are confused. They are trapped in the wilderness!’ And once again I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will chase after you. I have planned this in order to display my glory through Pharaoh and his whole army. After this the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord!” So the Israelites camped there as they were told.”
Exodus 14:1-4 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/exo.14.1-4.NLT
So the Israelites have left Israel… God is guiding them literally, with a pillar of smoke and a pillar of fire. (Exodus13:20-22 and Exodus 14:19-20)
He leads them to this place where they are stuck! HE took them there… HE led them to a place where the Red Sea was on one side and the Egyptian were on the other side.
How many times have we started a journey that GOD himself put before us so excited… a spring in our step… we know that we know that we know that we are fulfilling our God given purpose? As long as things are going well we take it as a sign that we are obeying, God is pleased with us…. We are on the right path.
But as soon as something starts to look not so bright, not so good, a little bit scary… we start to panic and we start to doubt God and we begin to wonder if it was His voice we were listening to at the beginning of this journey or maybe we made it all up and now we’ve really gotten ourselves into a deep, deep mess.
How our faith flew off the rails in a second.
Just like the Israelites:
“and they said to Moses, “Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren’t there enough graves for us in Egypt? What have you done to us? Why did you make us leave Egypt? Didn’t we tell you this would happen while we were still in Egypt? We said, ‘Leave us alone! Let us be slaves to the Egyptians. It’s better to be a slave in Egypt than a corpse in the wilderness!’””
Exodus 14:11-12 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/exo.14.11-12.NLT
God prepared them for this journey and even provided a literal and visual heavenly guide…and yet as soon as their situation looked bleak they forgot all that and fear gripped their heart. They forgot about God and His promises.
They forgot about:
“…I have planned this in order to display my glory through Pharaoh and his whole army. After this the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord!” So the Israelites camped there as they were told.”
Exodus 14:4 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/exo.14.4.NLT
He led them to this exact place, time, and situation so that His glory would be displayed and that Egyptians would know that the God of the Israelites was the true God.
So, if you are following God and obeying His commandments, don’t freak out if you encounter a situation that looks tight…. God has guided you to that tight spot on purpose. Someone is watching and they are going to see Gods glory through you (if you let it) and they are going to know that the God you serve is the one true God… all you have to do is let God be God.
“But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.””
Exodus 14:13-14 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/exo.14.13-14.NLT
God’s got you… the battle is His.