Tag: red sea

Enduring and Moving

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At times it is necessary to move. When the status quo is against God’s plan, the status quo must be left behind. Of course, it feels comfortable to stay with what is familiar, for – as disappointing as the familiar can be – at least we know we are surviving there. Exiting a place or circumstance with which we are accustomed can potentially be scary. Only one thing is to be feared more – God’s displeasure.

When Moses left Egypt, he had worldly reason to fear the king. The powerful pharaoh would not be pleased with this Hebrew’s renunciation of Egypt. Even though Moses was a Hebrew by blood, he had grown up in and been educated by this mighty nation. Though he had benefitted greatly from Egypt’s riches, he now felt called by His God to leave. Yes, it had been God’s will for Moses to be in the heart of Egypt, for we know he was found by the pharaoh’s daughter on the Nile River in that basket of reeds his mother had so prayerfully prepared and sent. And now, it was also God’s will for Moses to exit – in preparation for the furthering of God’s kingdom. God may put us places, and then carefully draw us away . . . all for the best of His kingdom.

The Hebrews were enslaved to the Egyptians, and Moses could no longer stand idly by and watch God’s people be wrongly mistreated. He felt God tug on His heart to become part of God’s next move on behalf of His beloved Hebrews. However, becoming part of God’s plan would require Moses to now “endure ill-treatment with the people of God [rather] than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25, NASB). On the one side stands ill treatment, and on the other stands sin’s temporary pleasure and ease. To leave Egypt now will mean Moses’ life will become difficult. He will be persecuted by the enemy. He will give up riches and ease and familiarity. Wisely, Moses takes the long-term view. He understands that ill treatment now is infinitely better than temporary pleasure coupled with eternal regret.

Moses determines to persevere by moving. The Bible records, “By faith [Moses] left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen” (Hebrews 11:27, NASB). Do you observe that word “endured”? The root of the word is “steadfast,” and here is the only place this particular Greek word is used in the Bible. Moses stayed faithful to God by doing two things: 1) not fearing the power he was leaving behind, and 2) enduring by keeping his heart fixed on an invisible God.

Our Lord who is now invisible is greater than any power we might be inclined to fear when we press forward in God’s will. Though we cannot yet see our God, He is the “King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God” (I Timothy 1:17, NASB). Moses did not fear the wrath of the king of Egypt because He revered the true King who – while now invisible – is eternally the Boss of everything!

We, too, can endure as we keep the eyes of our heart fixed on the unseen Ruler of the universe. We need not look behind, or over our shoulder, fearfully wondering how the enemy might pursue us. Not only is the pleasure of sin temporary, so is the terror of sinners and Satan.

Soon after Moses’ obedience, he and the Hebrews passed through the Red Sea on dry land. But, “the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned” (Hebrews 11:29, NASB). My friends, we need to move when God says to move, no matter how difficult the road ahead appears. To stay would be sin when God says to go. The ill treatment we suffer will not last forever, and our future deliverance is a sure thing. God will make the way for us no matter how ominous the sea in front. All who stand in opposition to the Lord will eventually drown in despair.

“We shall endure.” What an all-encompassing phrase! We shall endure because we have our sights fixed on the invisible, eternal God who has His perfect plan. We shall endure . . . as we move.

“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.” – Hebrews 11:24-27 (NASB)

This is (Not?) Too Much for Me

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I know the tribulation of life can feel this way, but – for the Christian – it cannot accurately be said that a trial is simply “too much for me.” Oh, I have surely felt at my literal wit’s end in deep places of despair and struggle, but the Word of God stands true forever. Paul said triumphantly in I Corinthians 10:13 (NASB), “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”

Either we believe in the God of the Bible or we do not. As a Christian who trusts God for my salvation, I must certainly also trust Him for my survival through difficulty. How can I claim the miracle of Him saving me from the wrath my sin deserves, but I cannot also believe the miracle that He provides my way to escape the temptation to sin or to give up?

I Corinthians 10:13 outlines five important facts to remember:

    1) Every trial we undergo is common to the human race. Despite our tendency to think we are the only ones who have ever felt the way we do, God ensures that our trials are not out of the realm of human experience or toleration.
    2) God is faithful even though we are not. Too often we view God the way we view ourselves or other people. We tend to think that God will act with us the way we might act with others. We imagine that He could possibly give up on His own people. Yet, God is transcendent – completely different than us. He has promised to remain faithful to those who desire Him. He promises that – despite our unfaithfulness – He will never let us down in the midst of greatest difficulty. No matter the trial, He will stay with us to provide a way to obedience and victory.
    3) God will not give to us more than we can endure. The God who created our physical bodies and our emotional, mental, and spiritual make-up certainly ascertains and measures precisely the trials we go through. He knows far better than we do just exactly what we can handle.
    4) God always provides a way of escape. In other words, God will surely give to us what we need to flee the temptation to disobey and cave to Satan’s tactics. God does this by making clear to us a route of escape. Remember the Israelites stuck between the approaching Egyptian chariots and the waters of the Red Sea? God made a route of escape through the sea. God did it. The Israelites simply followed the way God provided. So it is in our current trial. God provides the way for us to make it through, though our minds may see only trouble behind and before.
    5) God’s plan is that we endure, not be destroyed. I know it feels as though this will be the end of you, but that is not God’s plan. He provides a way of escape that you may be able to endure. He wants you to press forward in your walk with Him, and finally – one blessed day – make it to your heavenly home.

Yes, our hearts break under the weight of anguish and difficulties of many kinds. However, let’s take God at His Word. Let’s memorize and ponder and live out the truth of I Corinthians 10:13. Then we can say, “This is not too much for me, for my God is faithful.”

Take the Long View

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The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He. – Deuteronomy 32:4 (NASB)

What bold words Moses speaks forth in his declaration of the supreme goodness of God. The leader of renown assesses God after many years of living and serving, and Moses concludes that God’s work is perfect. As we ponder the leader’s reflection, let me remind you of a few elements of Moses’ life: He was hidden in a basket on the Nile River because of Pharoah’s edict that he and other Hebrew boys be murdered, he was raised in a foreign home, he bore the realization that he was separated from his people, he risked his life and comfort to identify with the people of God, he grappled with his murder of an Egyptian, he lived in obscurity for forty years in Midian, he was asked to help deliver the Israelites despite personal weaknesses, he endured the increased misery of the Israelites when he first approached Pharoah with God’s commands, he believed God through the plagues and death of the firstborn, he faced the dilemma of standing between the Red Sea and the approaching Egyptians, he led a complaining people through the wilderness forty years, and – most of all – he sustained personal devastation when denied entry to the Promised Land because of his own disobedience when he struck a rock instead of speaking to it as God commanded.

The bottom line is that Moses withstood grave disappointment at many instances of his life, and he suffered under baffling circumstances at many points. Were the “snapshot” view of things the final answer, Moses may not have declared his unwavering confidence in God’s inability to ever do wrong.

Despite the seemingly intolerable hardship at many turns along the road of life, Moses proclaimed, “His work is perfect.” Perfect here in the Hebrew means “complete, whole, healthful, having integrity.” Moses learned a vital key with God: take the long view. We may not apprehend the purpose of any particular difficulty or heartbreak, but we realize that God completes the picture of every righteous person’s life. He commands that all of life – even the grueling parts – function to fulfill a work in us that results in what is best, what is sound, what is fit.

Speaking of a long view, I stand amazed that Moses declares the complete justice of God even though he knew that he had been denied entrance to the Promised Land. Deuteronomy 3:23-27 makes clear that Moses sought God’s restoration and begged for entrance to Canaan. God denied him. And yet – with valor that inspires – Moses pronounces the faithfulness of God and the perfection of His work.

How does Moses’ broken heart exude such a hope? He has worked for God all his days and now is stopped at the threshold of a life dream. Or was he? All of Moses’ contemporaries who crossed over into the Promised Land died. Despite their entrance to Canaan; they faced enemies, difficulties, illnesses, and every other plight of humanity. The earthly Promised Land is not the Promised Land; it is not the ultimate dream.

Hebrews 11:13-16 says that great men and women of God have died in faith, without receiving the promises. They welcomed the promises from a distance. They believed and confessed that their true home is a heavenly home. Moses is in this category of unbelievable believers who stood on a hill overlooking the earthly Promised Land and knew for a fact that he would enter the Promised Land – the heavenly one!

Some will accuse people like me of using Heaven as a crutch. They might say that Heaven is not an answer to the turmoil we face in this world. I believe God has an infinite future to correct all wrongs and fill all dreams to an infinite depth. In Hebrews 11:16, we are informed that God is not ashamed to be called our God when and if we desire a heavenly city. For God, the heavenly Promised Land is not “pie in the sky” stuff. To the Maker of all reality, Heaven is the most real and the most desired. He prides Himself in those of us who, like Moses, truly believe that our deepest answers await us.

Let us announce, as Moses did, that God’s work is perfect. Despite anything we face, He does no wrong. Moreover, He has prepared a city for us!