At the Red Sea

Ever had the Holy Spirit just hit you with something? Like there was something so unmistakably for you in that very moment?

The other day at a church service, we sang the song, No Longer Slaves by Bethel Music. The worship team sang the lyric, “You split the sea, so I could walk right through it.”

That was my “Holy Spirit hit me moment”. Just wrecked my heart...in a good way.

If you’ve grown up in church or seen the Prince of Egypt cartoon or the 10 Commandments movie, you’ve heard the story before. Moses and the Israelites were standing there at the Red Sea. Moses raises his staff and God sent a wind to part the sea. Then Moses and his crew just walk with swagger on dry ground.

Back to the other night at worship…

During the song I was in such a state of worship with the Lord that I just reflected on the lyrics, “You split the sea, so I could walk right through it.”

I then heard the Lord tell me to, “TURN AROUND.” This vision came to me of me standing at the Red Sea.

This story is laid out in Exodus.

The back story is this:  The Israelites (Jews, Hebrews...all the same people just different names for them), were enslaved in Egypt for like 430 years. Then God raised up Moses to lead the people out of Egypt. A lot of juicy stuff happens that lead up to the huge exodus (pun intended) and then 600,000 men (not including the women and children...dang, that’s a lot of people to walk through a Sea...) (Exodus 12:37) make their way out of Egypt.

The Jews wander around and then find themselves at the Red Sea. If I had to guess, they were freaking out since the Egyptian army and Pharaoh's crew were coming after them. Pharaoh wanted the Israelites back - he wanted them enslaved again.  

Here’s how it went down:

(Exodus 14:10-12)

“As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were 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!”

Ok. Let’s pause...

I would likely respond the same way the Israelites did. A total scramble..worst-case-scenario-freak-out moment. Like a...“Where is God in this?” kind of attitude. It’s easy to do when there’s pressure and fear.

I don’t know about you, but I also often go to control. What can I do to fix this?

Anyway, back to the story: (Exodus 14:13-14)

“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 Moses raises his staff and God did His thing and fought for them. They walked through the Red Sea with water on their left and right. I can only imagine the wonder in their hearts when they saw God’s power and majesty right there at work.

His power and provision literally surrounding them.

I have read this story many times. I have heard it preached many times. But during this worship song the lyric just rang so clearly to me. “You split the sea so I could walk right through it.” The lyric is just effortless. Then the Lord laid it on my heart…

TURN AROUND.

As I thought about myself in this situation, I pictured me and the rest of the Israelites standing at the Red Sea, with our backs to the sea. We are all huddled together around some sort of white board with strategy scribbled all over.

Meanwhile, amongst my work and strife and control, God has split the sea so I could walk right through it.

All I need to do is turn around.

There are so many moments in my life where I need to turn around.

Stop the strife. Stop the work. Stop the control. Stop the worry. Stop it all.

And just turn around and walk right through my red sea moment because God has parted the sea and made a way.

I’m reminded of Isaiah 43:19 that says, “BEHOLD, I am doing a new thing…” we cannot see the new thing the Lord is doing if we are too busy strategizing how we are going to do it for Him.

What might our lives look like if we turned around, walked through the red sea on dry ground and let God’s power, majesty and provision surround us like walls of armor?