Yes… I know… I KNOW!… it’s been a very long time since my last blog post… and for that, I apologize profusely. Here’s the thing, I can’t seem to get my photos (the most important part of a PHOTOGRAPHY blog) to upload the way I want anymore. I promise I WILL work on it. 🙂
Anyway, this blog is neither taste nor sight related, but I felt compelled to share with the cyberworld something that God has been ministering to me lately. Not sure if someone out there needs to hear this like I did, but I’m just going to be obedient in sharing it.
So, today (the 13th) was my birthday. Yay…
That’s it.
Just kidding….. 😉
Onwards…
Today was my birthday. I got to hangout with and chat with one of my very good friends! I was so blessed to even be spending time with her, but God had more for me than just the blessing of being with her. I am so thankful that He is sovereign!
We got to discussing some hard stuff she and her family had been facing, and how the Lord has been ministering to herself and other family members. As we looked at the situation before us, and what we knew about the Lord, we were encouraged to by the reminder that He was doing a work greater than what we could contemplate. We recognized that sometimes God brings you through the fire so that His glory can be revealed to and through you. As we discussed, God reminded me of a passage of scripture I had read recently.
“Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.” Ex. 14:21-22
So, for most Christians like myself who were born and raised in a Bible-reading, church-going, ministry-serving, Jesus-worshiping household, we have been learning about this miracle for.ev.er….foooor.eeev.eeeer. (said in my best Sandlot impression, by the way). Honestly, I usually just glance over stuff like this. I mean, just being real and honest. We ALL do that from time to time with passages we know so well. This time was different, though. This time something stood out to me that I’d never noticed before… “and all that night the Lord drove the sea back”. That simple little phrase completely transformed my perspective on the parting of the Red Sea. Why might you ask? Well, allow me to elaborate.
Has anyone seen The Prince of Egypt? It’s a pretty crazy, great movie… yet, apparently very inaccurate. Surprise, surprise, right? I can’t really list off all the inaccuracies, but I have one solid one… Dude, didn’t Moses just like stick his staff all up in the Red Sea and it magically became split in two, man? (Now best dumb guy voice… re-read the sentence with some imagination.) Needless to say, I blindly believed the animated version of the story. I think that’s probably because, as humans, we like to think everything happens in a spectacular, split-second kind of way, but let’s be real here: if God always worked that quickly, how would we learn anything?
As my friend and I discussed this scripture in comparison to her situation, the Lord started revealing some more of His beautiful mysteries. So often, God brings us to “Red Seas” in our lives; things we just can’t foresee being able to overcome. Whether it’s a broken relationship, a habitual sin, a financial struggle, a loss of someone dear; we all have been at that point where we just could not, with our human reasoning and logic, see ANY way out. Sometimes it’s really hard to face the things God brings into our lives, but He could not make it anymore clear that through seeking His will, we can be delivered from every trial. To EVERYTHING there is a season.
Here’s what really stood out to me about the fact that God took all night to part the sea. He could have easily done it in a quick and “showy” way, but He didn’t. Simple as that. He did it while people slept. He did it over a period of time. He didn’t give the Israelites the instant gratification, but He taught them to wait on Him and to trust Him. I think He does the same thing in our lives! Yes, it may seem that the night will never end, but it will. Maybe it won’t be when we expect it and maybe it won’t be till we see Him face-to-face, but our time spent here on Earth is so short compared to what awaits us in Heaven. What He asks of us now is to trust Him. To trust that what He is doing when we aren’t watching is exactly what we need! It really has blown me away to think about this comparison. God could be in the process of delivering you right now. Are you willing to wait on him patiently? Or would you rather wait in total misery, doubting Him more and more with each passing moment? I’ll take the former, thanks!
“As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” Ex. 14:10-12
Sometimes, all we see is the Red Sea in front of us, mountains to the sides of us, and the enemy right behind us. Sometimes, all we think about is our Satan-influenced, skewed version of the past that we are convinced is better than what God is doing now. Sometimes, all we say to the Lord is what we think He won’t/can’t do in our lives.
Here’s where the rubber meets the road, folks. During these times, we have so much LESS of an excuse to have that attitude than the Israelites did. Granted, their excuses for being so short-sighted are not justifiable, but seriously… we have the whole Bible, the Holy Spirit, and the wholly-loving sacrifice of Jesus to remind us that God has a plan!
One of the most beautiful things about this passage, in my opinion is how God’s hand of protection is so obvious.
“Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.” Ex. 14:19-20
Yes, they had enemies that sought after their lives. Yes, their enemies were very, very near. But God in His grace held them back. Isn’t it cool that the same pillar that guided them to this seemingly hopeless place, also protected them from their seemingly unavoidable doom? Plus, in the end there was so much hope and the only people who faced doom were their enemies.
“Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me.” Psalm 138:7
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
“Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.” Ex. 14:13-18
God is constant. In that same manner, everything about Him is constant. Though we can never fully understand His ways, God promises us that no matter what we face, He is there guiding and protecting us and we can trust Him.
So my prayer for you, my friend, and for myself is that through every Red Sea, through every battle with a hardened heart, and through every long night near the enemy camp we will holdfast to His truth. I pray that we would never stop trusting that He is working in our lives; even when we can’t see it. Lastly, I pray that we would rejoice when God delivers us in such a way that He receives ALL the glory because in the end that is truly all that matters.
My birthday was blessed. I serve a faithful, loving God.
Happy Valentine’s day!
“We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19
Sophia ❤
Taste and See 
