I recently started enjoying God in a brand new way by looking at situations from His perspective. Now I hope this does not sound disrespectful because I don’t intend it that way at all because I love and respect Him so much.
My question is why did God not just orchestrate events in such a way that the Israelites just ‘woke’ up on the other side of the Red Sea? I mean, after all, God knew exactly what had to be done to free His people from the hands of the Egyptians for good. Then it struck me, it would not have meant so much to His people if they were just ‘transferred’ to the other side. This is the same effect when us as parents just ‘provide’ something for our children.
Look at a few verses from the incident: Exodus 14:10-14 NKJV The Israelites saw the Egyptians coming closer and the Red Sea before them and became very fearful.
Can you imagine how fearful a mother with a small baby must have been when she saw the Egyptians coming closer and the Red Sea in front of her? I don’t think her fear was any less when the Red Sea suddenly parted and Moses said they must move through it. What if the water suddenly came back? Maybe she could not even swim. So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
Exodus 14:22 NKJV
So while they went forward on dry land, look what happened to the Egyptians:
Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the Lord looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He troubled the army of the Egyptians. And He took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.”
Exodus 14:24-25 NKJV
The next moment Moses stretched his hand out again and the water came crashing back onto the Egyptians.
So, imagine the story that same mother could tell her child later. She could describe her fear, her faith to just trust God, her obedience to just go forward and the eventual victory God provided. She could tell it with much more enthusiasm than if she was just ‘transferred’ to the other side…
So, I have a feeling God take us through difficult situations in ways where we are ‘involved’ so that we can GROW. The other way would be cool but no growth for us. Is this not exactly the same feeling of pride we get when our Children succeed with something vs just enjoying a handout?
So, next time a bad situation comes our way, it would be a lot easier if we just trust God instead of complaining and thinking God has forsaken us.