Stepping into the Water
When at a crossroads in life or when going through a difficult time, it can be difficult to figure out which way to go. It’s even more difficult when you pray about it and you’re in that “waiting” part, you know, where you’re waiting for an answer from God. I hate the waiting. Waiting through a storm in life is awful. You’re asking, “where are you God? don’t you see I’m drowning here?” Sometimes waiting is not going forward until you get further direction; however, sometimes you have to put your foot in the water first. There’s a lesson in this from the book of Exodus.
The Israelites, who had been enslaved in Egypt, have just fled. Moses said “let my people go” and Pharaoh finally said “ok.” They didn’t waste any time getting the heck out of dodge. The problem though, is that the direction they went took them to the banks of the Red Sea. While they are camped out near the sea and not sure how they are going to cross it, Pharaoh decides he made a huge mistake letting them leave and chases after them. The Israelites see the Egyptian army chasing them and they get extremely agitated. With the sea before them and the army behind them, they start complaining to Moses that they are going to die – a real Chicken Little moment, “the sky is falling!!” They complain that life was better as a slave than to be there in the wilderness to die.
Moses, being the reassuring father figure – and what any good preacher would do – tells the Israelites, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. . . The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” (14:13-14) How many times have we been told to stand? God will save you, God will fight for you. Those statements are absolutely true, except oftentimes we are not to just “stand.” Until we take that first step, God’s not going to do anything. God responded to Moses in 14:15, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.” This is what is so comical to me. I have this image of Moses, standing before the Israelites, arms outstretched and moving up and down as if saying “there, there, it’s alright”, being all fatherly, self-assuring and pious telling everyone to stand and watch God work. God says (in the TDH translation): “Why are you just standing around talking? Get moving you idiots! Move! Run!” Can you imagine? Moses is telling everybody to sit back and watch God work and God says (in what I imagine to be that high pitched “what the heck are you thinking” kind of tone) “what you are you people doing just standing there?” Certainly we have to pray, prayer is essential. Prayer is our communication with God and we are commanded to pray. But, even with one of the most righteous men ever praying, God didn’t protect the Israelites or provide for them at this juncture until they moved.
When we pray, we are to believe God will answer that prayer. But, it doesn’t mean we sit around and just wait. David wrote, “in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” (Psalm 5:3) Expectantly waiting is not merely sitting and twiddling your thumbs. As a pregnant woman “expects” her child, she busies herself with preparation for that child. As a waiter “waits” on you in a restaurant, he’s busy taking your order, filling your drink glass, getting your food, etc – he’s not just sitting there doing nothing while watching you eat. Therefore, when we call out to God for something, we are to wait on Him, but we are to be purposefully moving about during that time. Needing a job? Don’t just pray for one – search for one! Want a pay raise? Don’t just pray for one – go talk to your boss about it. Want an “A” on that test? Don’t just pray for it – study for it!
Maybe it’s time you move. You can cry out to God all day long, but He may be waiting on you to take that first step. Before the waters are parted, He wants you to put your foot in the water. Before He answers that prayer, He wants you to feel the rush of the water around your foot, ankle, knees and maybe even waist. There are lessons there in the water waiting for God to answer that prayer. Whatever those lessons are though, you will never learn them until you take that first step. So, don’t just sit there crying out to God, “Go forward!”