"Go forward!"

“The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.”

(Exodus 14:15–16, ESV)

There are times in life we feel pressed in by the people and pressures in life … just as Israel did in this moment in Exodus 14. They had left Egypt but were now trapped between the pursuing Egyptians and the Red Sea. But God provided a way through.

We may feel pressed by what our life holds today. Some of us are facing the loss of a loved one. Others are facing relationship challenges, financial struggles, hurts. These press in on us, making us feel like we are trapped, like there is no way through them; we want to escape, we want to return to what life used to be instead of facing these. But God moves us forward!

We do not look backward to where we have been or to where we think it would be comfortable but rather forward to where God is taking us. In Exodus 14, God instructs them to “go forward” (even though it does not seem there is a way forward). God provides a way through the challenges of life, not escape from them. Let us walk through them, trusting Him.