Exodus 14:19-31
“Facing The Waters”
The nation is going through very difficult times. Hurricane Katrina's impact is beyond imagination. New Orleans is filled with water. People have lost their families, homes, jobs and much more. The death toll is increasing every day. The future of the city is still unknown.
I remember a trip when I was in a very scary situation. In 1988, some pastors and I wanted to go to the Philippines to participate in the Lausanne II conference led by John Stott. The only way we could leave Lebanon those days was the sea. All other exits were closed in the war. The hovercraft ship would leave the harbor every midnight. When we got on the ship, the artillery fire started. Shells were falling around us and the captain turned off all the lights. Surrounded by the water on all sides, we could only sit silently, pray and wait.
Ninety years ago, the people of Moussa Dagh, led by Rev. Antreassian and other leaders, decided to head to the mountains to seek deliverance from the Turks. Thousands of people faced immediate death. They had the enemy on one side and the sea on the other. After forty days, they experienced God's delivering hand when a French ship found them and came for rescue.
The people of Israel faced a similar situation: the Pharaoh’s soldiers on one side and the Red Sea on the other. It is a situation when they are surrounded by dangers on all sides.
The people of Israel forgot God's promise as we all do when facing dangers. They said: "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?" (vs 11). However, the promise of God was greater than all the dangers around them. When their complaint reached the Lord, the Lord replied: "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on."(vs 15) God keeps His promises.
Although the road seems impossible, God wants us to not be scared and walk straight ahead.
"When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
And when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you." (Isaiah 43:2)
These promises are for all of us to claim because we are “precious and honored” in His sight and because “He loves us”. (Isaiah 43:4)
Of course, when we are “in the waters” we need to do our part as well. The Moussa Dagh people went up the mountain. They obeyed their leaders. The organized themselves… However, the greater part is God’s as He is the rescue and refuge “in the waters.”
Water all around you? Trust the Lord.