Keep Moving Forward

I’ve been reading in Deuteronomy recently and meditating on God’s deep desire for us to be so in love with Him, but I jumped back to Exodus and was challenged by this passage to keep moving forward and fighting for our love for Him each day.

As the Israelites stood in front of the red sea in Exodus 14:13 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.”

So Moses brings the whole nation of Israel to a dead end in the desert while the only thing between Israel and Pharaoh’s army was the Red Sea. The Israelites had seen God work in tremendous ways and were delivered from Pharaoh and thought they were “home free,” but God directs Moses to take a route that led to the Red Sea, instead of the northern route around the Red Sea. The Israelites cried out and were defenseless and scared yet the Lord responded powerfully to them by saying “move on, keep moving forward.”

It’s easy to get caught up in the “Red Sea” in our life, and sometimes if you are like me it’s that sick feeling of not feeling passionate love for God, or there are other stresses in life, roadblocks that seem to drain you from your spiritual fervor. But no matter what we are feeling God tells us one thing: “Keep moving. Push through. Rely on me and I will do the dramatic. I will receive the glory.” As the Israelites stood panicked in front of the red sea it angered God and he responded by saying “keep moving.”

A lot of times I make excuses of “but God” and God always responds “Keep moving.” When we live by sight, we act on what we see. God is into the remarkable. There is no way out without God here. That is just the way He wants it. No one will get glory except God. So God must give us this love for him, he must give us strength to endure the difficulties of life, so that we praise Him! Maybe you are starring at the Red Sea right now in your life, God’s answer will always be the same, “rely on me, don’t grow weary, and move forward.” Prayerfully some great encouragement for you all!

Mike Reed is the Direct of Student Ministries @ MBC Loudoun