Are you stuck between a rock and a hard place right now?
Have you ever heard the expression “Stuck between a rock and a hard place?” It means there is no way out, and all your options seem bad.
It definitely applies to the situation the Israelites found themselves in right after leaving Egypt, except they were stuck between a sea and an army (read the story in Exodus 12-14).
After a series of plagues that shook Egypt to its core, Pharaoh finally allowed the Israelites to leave. The Israelites, weary but hopeful, set out on their journey toward the desert.
But soon, fear struck. Because Pharaoh changed his mind, he couldn’t bear to let his slave workforce go so easily, and so he gathered his army to chase after them in the desert.
While the sound of hooves and chariots grew louder, the Israelites reached the Red Sea—a vast, impenetrable body of water. They’re stuck. There is nowhere to go. Nowhere to run.
Fear swept over the Israelites. Panic set in. They turned to Moses, their leader, and accused him:
“Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? […] It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” – Exodus 14:11-12 NIV
They had trusted Moses, trusted God, but now they were on the edge of disaster.
Would they die here in the desert, caught between the sea and an army?
But God had not brought them this far to let them fail. He told Moses to stretch out his staff over the sea, and Moses obeyed (Exodus 14:16). He raised his staff, and at God’s command, the waters of the Red Sea parted. The sea split in two, creating a dry path with towering walls of water on either side.
The Israelites, amazed and trembling, stepped into the impossible. They walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground, surrounded by the overwhelming power of God’s deliverance.
In which area of your life do you need the impossible?
This text comes from the e-book Miracles in Motion. If you’d like to reflect on this story some more, please download the e-book for free. It outlines great life lessons you can draw from this miracle as well as intriguing questions to reflect on. I highly recommend it!
