"Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on" (Exodus 14:15).
Imagine this. You've brought the whole nation of Israel, approximately 600,000, to a dead end in the desert. The only thing between you and the invading army of Pharaoh is the Red Sea. This is after nine plagues God has given to Pharaoh to motivate him to free the Israelites. Finally, Pharaoh frees Moses and the people have left Egypt. They, no doubt , believe they are home free. "Freedom at last", they said. God does a strange thing. He directs Moses to take a route that leads to the Red Sea, instead of the northern route around the Red Sea. God explains that He doesn't want them fighting the enemies they will encounter on this route. But, still, there is this issue of the Red Sea.
They finally arrive at the Red Sea. The people are wondering where they go from here. News hits the camp. Pharaoh has changed his mind. He is coming after them with his army. Panic sets in. They are defenseless. "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?" "It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert," cry the people.
God sometimes brings each of us to a "Red Sea" in our life. It may be a business problem that can't be solved. It may be a marriage that seems to be failing. It may be a debilitating disease. Whatever your "Red Sea", God tells us one thing: "Keep moving". The Red Sea is before them, yet God is angered at Moses and tells him to "Keep moving". "But, Lord, the Red Sea is before me." "Keep moving". When we live by sight we act on what we see. God set this stage in dramatic fashion. God is into the dramatic. There is no way out without God here. That is just the way He wanted it. There is no one who will get glory here except God.
A friend once admonished me when I was in the midst of a marriage separation that eventually led to a divorce, "You must not withdraw from being proactive in your faith just because of this trial that you are in. God's hand is on your life. There are too many who are depending on you to fulfill the purposes God has in your life. Keep moving! Keep investing yourself in others." I didn't feel like it. I was in too much pain. But I did it anyway. God met me at the point of my greatest need once I decided simply to be obedient. This is what helped heal the pain. Getting past myself by investing myself in others. There is great healing when we look past our own problems and seek to invest ourselves in others for the sake of Christ. This is when our own Red Seas become parted. We begin to walk to freedom. But, we will never experience the miracle of the Red Sea in our lives if we don't first "Keep moving".
