Forward!

June 6
Forward!

And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.’—Exodus 14:15

Have you ever encountered an obstacle so huge, you just didn’t know if you could get around it? Perhaps you are facing one today.

If you need a testimony of victory against tremendous obstacles, read the book of Exodus. The tenth plague had come upon Egypt, striking the firstborn of all the houses of Egypt.

Meanwhile, the Israelites sat terrified in their homes amid the shrieks, wails, moans, and cries of the mourning Egyptians around them. The angel of God had passed through the land, slaying the firstborn of every house that did not have blood upon the doorpost and lintel.

The next day, Pharaoh gave the Israelites permission to leave Egypt, so they headed out of the land. But while Moses led the Israelites to the edge of the Red Sea, Pharaoh hardened his heart and sent his men to pursue the Israelites.

As the Israelites looked back from the Red Sea, hundreds of Egyptian chariots bore down on them! They had no place left to go. With the Red Sea in front of them and the Egyptians behind them, “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.’”

At once the Red Sea parted, and God provided them safe passage.

Forty years later, the Israelites (now under Joshua’s leadership) faced the Jordan River, and it appeared impossible to cross. But God had told them that when they stepped into the water, it would disappear. The river flowed menacingly along, but because of God’s instruction and promise, they went forward. At the moment the Israelites’ feet touched that water, it parted, and the people walked across on dry ground to the Promised Land!

When we face obstacles, God always provides a way. He has promised in His Word that He will make our paths straight. God calls us to go through our obstacles, whatever they may be, because He calls us forward to a glorious destiny, the Promised Land.

So if you face a tremendous obstacle today, wait for God to provide you a way through it, and when He calls you forward, go in the faith that He will fulfill His promise to you.

When the good Lord closes a door, somewhere He opens a window. —THE SOUND OF MUSIC