* Nothing I Can Do

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”
Exodus 13:17 NIV

When I travel, I look at all the routes. I want the quickest one with the least amount of hindrances along the way. When I fly, I want non-stop. And I know I'm not the only one. However, even the best-laid travel plans don't always work out the way we expect. Sometimes there's a detour; sometimes a traffic jam. Or in this case for the Israelites, the Red Sea.

If God had given me the choice on which route to take - whether I would want to fight or cross a body of water - I'd go for the fight every time. I can't help but think that some of the Israelites were already wondering why they didn't just go through the country. It's not like God didn't know where the sea was.

If I put myself in their place - I've got my family and my livestock and I'm facing the Red Sea with the Egyptian army in hot pursuit right behind me. In my mind, there's no way out. There is nothing I can do.

How many times in our lives have we been at a similar junction? The bills are overwhelming, the illness that no one could foresee or prevent, the circumstances over which we have no control. And we wonder, "Why?!?" We've tried to follow God. We've tried to hear His voice. And yet here we are at our own version of the Red Sea with no way out. Nothing we can do.

And that's just it. We MUST learn to trust God! To follow Him wherever He leads us, and in the process, we learn (hopefully) that HE is in control. If He's led us to this place, He already has our way out made for us and He will do it. We can't see it, but that's why it's called faith. And just like He did for the Israelites, He will use that same path to wipe out whatever is trying to keep us in bondage or destroy us.

What we CAN do is faithfully follow Him, no matter what it looks like.

Prayer:

Father,
            Thank You for being the Way Maker. Help us to lay down our own reasoning and those ways that seem right to us, and choose instead to follow the leading of Your Holy Spirit. May we ever be open to hear AND obey whatever You speak to our hearts. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen