I was in this kind of predicament the other day and began to seek the Lord about what I was supposed to do. He led me to a familiar Bible story in Exodus 14. I'm sure you probably have heard about the time the children of Israel were before the Red Sea…with Pharaoh and his army on their heels. However, there may be some truths in this story that you missed. I know I did.
First, God had directed the children of Israel to that particular place. In verse two of Exodus 14, God tells them specifically to go and camp by the sea. God even told Moses that Pharaoh and his army would come after them and that He would get honor from the situation.
Sure enough, Pharaoh came up from Egypt and was right behind them. The Israelites had a problem. They had done exactly what God had told them to do; they had been obedient and followed His direction of where to camp. Now Pharaoh was behind them getting ready to attack and it seemed impossible to cross the Red Sea. There seemed to be no way of escape.
I can just hear them now: "We've been good and here we are in this mess," "I don't see why God had us come this direction; He's just got us killed," "How could God let this happen to us," and other statements that I am sure we have all heard, or that we have even let slip out of our own mouths.
But God had already told them what the outcome would be, so…
Three Steps To Deal With The Situation
Moses gave them some directions to deal with the situation and they hold true for us today when we face similar circumstances.
First of all, fear not! How many times have we read that Jesus told his disciples to fear not? Why would that be the first thing to do when we are caught between a rock and a hard place? Because fear makes us do stupid things!
I was born and raised in West Texas. We have critters here called rattlesnakes. Rattlesnakes are poisonous and can cause death if one gets bit. A rattlesnake will warn you of its presence by rattling its tail. When people have not been trained properly about how to respond to this sound, many times they will take off running and run right into the snake. It isn't that the people are stupid; they just do something stupid because of fear.
Second, stand still and see. When you hear the warning sound of danger, be still. Let's go back to the rattlesnake example. When one hears the warning rattle, the first thing you are to do is stop, be still, and locate the snake. The rattle of a rattlesnake can be very non-directional. So stand still and see. What are you supposed to see? The snake?
Of course, but also you are to locate your route of escape. Moses told the children of Israel to see the salvation of the Lord. We are to "be still and know" that God is God. We are to be still and locate our enemy and his forces. Then, we are to "see" the victory that God's W ord declares about our situation.
Third, go forward. We are so prone to fight the good fight of faith, do our best not to fear, stand still…stand still…stand still…and never move again. But God wants us to go forward.
Yes, Satan and his forces are closing in on you; yes, there seems to be no escape to the right or to the left; and yes, to go forward seems to be impossible.
But God doesn't have the word "impossible" in His vocabulary and He wants you to see things the way that He sees them. He has already established a way of escape for you.
On top of that, His way gets Him honor at the expense of the devil and his crowd. God works a miracle. He gets to operate in His power and might on your behalf.
When you have been following the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit and you end up camped before a "Red Sea" with the devil breathing down your neck—don't panic!
God knows where you are. He knows what is in front of you and He knows what is behind you. He is your protector, your deliverer. He has a plan. Hallelujah! He always has a plan for your escape and it will always get Him honor.
So, the next time you end up between a rock and a hard place, remember: don't panic, stand still, see what God sees, and then move forward. He will cause that impossibility in front of you to divide in a miraculous way and you will move forward in victory because…He fights for you!
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