TRAPPED!
By Michael Guido,
D.D.
A resident of a mental
institution fancied himself as a professional artist.
A kind doctor gave him a room for a studio, with
paints and brushes. One day the patient invited the
staff to come for the unveiling of his masterpiece.
He pointed to an untouched piece of canvas mounted on
the easel and asked, "How do you like it?"
"Fine," said a doctor, "but what is
it?" He answered, "The Israelites going
through the Red Sea." "Where’s the
sea?" asked a nurse. "Rolled back," he
explained. "Where are the Israelites?"
asked an aid. "They’ve passed over," he
said. "Where are the Egyptians?" asked
another doctor. "Oh," he replied,
"they’ve been drowned."
But let us see what
the Bible has to say about it. It is written in
Hebrews 11:29, "By faith they passed through the
Red Sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians
attempting to do, were drowned."
MARK THE DIVINE PLAN.
Every architect has a
plan for his building. Every mechanic has a plan for
his motor. Every sculptor has a plan for his statue.
And God has a plan for His people. He delights in
making His plan known, but He won’t demand that you
take it. He works for you, in you, and with you only
as you consent.
Listen to the counsel.
He said to Moses in Exodus 14:2, "Speak unto the
children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before
Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against
Baal-zephon: before it shall ye encamp by the
sea."
How definite and
detailed was the counsel. No room was left to doubt.
You and I are not accidents, we are incidents. We are
not irrelevant, we are important. God’s people are
dear to His heart, and He takes a detailed interest
in each one.
"Yes," you
may say, "I see where He took a detailed
interest in the Israelites. But what about me in the
here and now?" His guidance is personal, for He
says in Psalm 32:8, "I will instruct thee and
teach thee in the way which thou shalt go." It
is perpetual, according to Isaiah 58:11, "The
Lord shall guide thee continually." It is
particular, according to Isaiah 30:21, "Thine
ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is
the way, walk ye in it."
God does not promise
us a trouble-free life, but He does promise to make
us triumphant. He does not guarantee us calm weather,
but He does guarantee to carry us through it. In
fact, the one who is led by God discovers that God is
able to turn an obstacle into an opportunity, and
tragedy into triumph.
Listen to the control.
It is written in Exodus 13:21-22, "The Lord went
before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead
them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to
give them light; to go by day and night. He took not
away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar
of fire by night, from before the people."
As pilgrims and
strangers in the wilderness world, you and I can
count on His presence and power. The Father is above
us, controlling all things. The Savior is before us,
conducting us through all things. And the Spirit is
within us, counseling us in all things. He gloriously
guarantees, "I will never leave thee, nor
forsake thee."
With our Lord going
before us, nothing can come to us unless it first
passes through Him. And He is not going to let
anything come to us that is not for His glory and our
good.
The devil and his
demons cannot touch us without the Lord’s
permission, and then only for our good. Not
everything is good that comes to us, but the Lord
will make everything that comes to us work for our
good.
Listen to the
cognizance. Our Lord said to Moses in Exodus 14:3,
"For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel,
They are entangled in the land, and the wilderness
hath shut them in."
To God who is eternal,
there can be no such thing as a past or a future. All
is transparent, continuous, now. His knowledge is
absolute and unacquired. He does not need spies or
secret agents to bring Him information. Neither does
He need radio or television to flash Him news of what
is taking place. He is the God of knowledge, and He
has planned everything from the beginning. Nothing
ever takes Him by surprise. He is never at a loss for
wisdom, wealth or works.
Listen to the
conditioning. It is written in Exodus 13:17-18,
"And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the
people go, that God led them not through the way of
the land of the Philistines, although that was near;
for God said, Lest the people repent when they see
war, and they return to Egypt. But God led the people
about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red
Sea: and the children of Israel went up armed out of
the land of Egypt." The Lord is more interested
in our maturity than our mirth, more concerned about
our development than our delight. But we saturate our
bodies with attention, while our souls dry up with
neglect. We tend to put comfort above character, the
world above the Word, ease above effort, the short
way above the sure way.
Listen to the
check-up. The Lord allowed His children, according to
Exodus 14:3, to be "hemmed up."
Whenever He allows His
children to be "hemmed up," He is right
there with them. He allowed the Hebrew children to be
hemmed up in the fiery furnace, and He allowed Daniel
to be hemmed up in the lion’s den, and He allowed
the Israelites to be hemmed up by the Red Sea; but in
each case He was there with them, and He will always
be there with you.
Now here is an
interesting thing. While the Lord allowed the Hebrew
children to get into the fiery furnace, He did not
allow the fire to get into them. While He allowed
Daniel to get into the lion’s den, He did not allow
Daniel to get into the lion’s mouth. You, too, may
be hemmed in, but our Lord will not allow you to be
hurt.
Should you need
strength, He will give it to you. He said in Isaiah
41:10, "I will strengthen thee." Should you
need supplies, He will give them to you. Philippians
4:19 says, "My God shall supply all your
needs." Should you need succor, He will give
that to you. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, "God is
faithful, He will not let you be tempted beyond what
you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also
provide a way out so that you can stand up under
it."
The devil tempts you
to bring out the worst. But God tests you to bring
out the best. This Red Sea experience was designed to
test Israel’s faith. And they passed it with flying
colors. How do you make out when you are tested?
MARK THE
PROCLAMATIONS.
Look at the children
of Israel. They encamped before the Red Sea. Around
them are the mountains. Behind them are the
Egyptians. Ordinarily people find safety in one of
two ways–in fighting or fleeing. But the children
of Israel could not do either. Did the Lord leave
them in the lurch? No, He never does. Moses said,
"The Lord shall fight for you."
But at first there was
fear. Exodus 14:10-12 reports, "They were in
great fear; and the children of Israel cried unto the
Lord. And they said unto Moses, Because there were no
graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in
the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with
us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the
word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us
alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had
been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that
we should die in the wilderness."
Heed the first
proclamation: "Fear not." Why? When you are
fearful you hurt yourself. Fear maddens your mind,
ruins your reason, saps your strength, blights your
body, and slays your soul. And when you are fearful
you hurt God. You doubt His guidance, His
guardianship, His goodness, and His grace. Where
there is fear, there is no faith. Where there is
faith, there is no fear. So the Bible says,
"Fear not! Have faith in God."
Heed the second
proclamation: "Stand still." One of the
hardest things to do is to stand still. We will do
almost anything else. We will walk, trot, or run; we
will sing, preach or teach; but we will not stand
still.
Most of our songs
indicate this. They speak of service, not of standing
still. Hear them: The Fight Is On; Onward Christian
Soldiers; Stand Up For Jesus; We’re Marching To
Zion. But we need to Take Time To Be Holy.
Heed the third
proclamation: "See the salvation of the Lord,
which He will show you today: for the Egyptians whom
ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more
for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall
hold your peace."
The Israelites had
seen the foe, and they had become fearful. Now they
are directed to see the Father. He will fight for
them. And faith sprang up in their hearts.
Too often we look at
the circumstances, not Christ; at the storm, not the
Savior; at our grief, not God. Think of Peter. He got
his eyes off the Savior and onto the storm. What
happened? He started to sink. Think of the
Israelites. They got their eyes off their Father and
onto the foe. What happened? They became fearful. We,
too, will sin and become scared every time we get our
eyes off the Lord.
But think of this.
What did they fear? Peter feared the storm. Christ
brought a calm, and the storm disappeared. The
Israelites feared the foe. The Father fought for
them, and the foe disappeared. Are you struggling in
a storm or facing a foe? Look to the Lord. Your storm
will cease. Have faith, the Lord will fight for you.
That which you dread so deeply will disappear. And
you will see the salvation of the Lord.
His salvation is
something to enjoy, not endure; something to delight
us, not disappoint us; something to be finished, not
forsaken. And it is altogether of the Lord. Thus the
secret of faith is to see the Lord.
It has been told that,
before his battles, Napoleon would stand in his tent
alone, and he would summon his commanders to come to
him, one by one. When they would come in, he would
not say a word to them, and they would not say a word
to him. They would look him in the eyes, and he would
shake their hand, and they would go forth to conquer.
When you and I come to a task straight from the
presence of God, nothing and no one can defeat us.
The secret of victory is to face God before we face
man.
Heed the fourth
proclamation: "Wherefore criest thou unto me?
speak unto the children of Israel, that they go
forward." Sometime later, after the children of
Israel were defeated at Ai, Joshua fell down before
the Lord in prayer. He heard Him say, "Wherefore
liest thou upon thy face? Israel hath sinned."
Prayer is not a
monologue. It is a dialogue. We are to talk, but we
are also to listen. When we listen, from time to
time, we will hear the Lord say to us, "What are
you praying for? It is time to put feet to your
prayers. It is time to right some wrong. It is time
to confess some sin."
One evening, while a
wealthy farmer was praying, he cried, "Oh, God,
poor widow Jones does not have any food. Help
her." Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder.
His little boy looked up and said, "Daddy, we
just butchered a cow and canned some vegetables.
Let’s answer your prayer."
Sometimes it is a lot
easier to talk to God about man than it is to talk to
man about God. Sometimes it is a lot easier to pray
than to perform a task. So we talk to God, we do not
testify and we do not toil. Let us be quick to pray,
but let us be just as quick to put feet to our
prayers, and go forward.
Go forward...in spite
of your foes, your faults, your failures, your
frailty, or your feelings. Your business is to trust,
His business is to transform. Your business is to
act, His business is to achieve. Let nothing slow you
or stop you.
When Christopher
Columbus was crossing the Atlantic, day after day
they saw no land. His sailors threatened mutiny and
tried to make him turn back. But he refused to listen
to their declarations of discouragement. Each day he
entered in the ship’s log the dramatic words,
"Sailed on!"
MARK THE DIVINE
PERFORMANCE.
It is written in
Exodus 14:16, "Lift thou up thy rod, and stretch
out thine hand over the sea, and divide it."
Before the Lord displayed His force, Moses had to
display his faith. Before the occurrence, there had
to be the obedience. Why? We walk by faith, not
sight.
Look at the division
of the sea. It is written in Exodus 14:21,
"Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and
the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east
wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and
the waters were divided."
When did the sea go
back? It rolled back during the night. When was the
Lord working? He worked all that night. Are you going
through a night experience? Has sorrow put out one
star, and suffering another? Is your life dark and
dismal? That is just the time the Lord will work for
you. But it is going to take all night. The Lord’s
clock is never slow. And He will work all through the
night, and when dawn comes you will have your
miracle.
The story continues in
verse 22, "The children of Israel went into the
midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters
were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on
their left." There was no confusion; everyone
was calm. Oh, there were walls of water on both
sides; nevertheless, they walked and did not worry.
Even though the soldiers were behind them, they did
not scamper. They had faith, not fear.
What about the trial
that you face? The Lord who divided the sea is able
to deal with your situation. There is no prayer too
hard for Him to answer, no problem too difficult for
Him to solve, no need too great for Him to supply, no
misery too deep for Him to relieve. He can do
anything. Just trust Him, and take one step at a
time. That is all He expects you to do. He will wall
up the waters, and give you a firm footing on dry
ground; but you must trust and obey. It is not
necessary for you to see any help in sight, nor is it
necessary for the Lord to have any relief on hand. He
does not need anything to begin with. Trust Him, and
He will see you through.
Look at the
destruction of the soldiers. It is written in Exodus
14:23, "The Egyptians pursued, and went in after
them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s
horses, his chariots, and his horsemen."
"Well," you may say, "isn’t that
exactly what the Israelites did?" Oh, no. The
Israelites went in by faith, the Egyptians by
feeling. The Israelites were led by the Lord, the
Egyptians by lust.
When people try to do
what faith alone can do, they will experience
frustration and failure. For the Bible continues,
"The Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine
hand over the sea...and Moses stretched forth his
hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his
strength when the morning appeared...and the Lord
overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the
sea."
It made a big
difference whether you were an Israelite or an
Egyptian. The Israelites had light, the Egyptians had
darkness. And today the Lord’s a light that gives
life to those who believe, and He is a darkness that
gives death to those who do not believe.
There was another
difference. The Israelites had dry ground, but the
Egyptians had the sea. People who trust the Lord find
Him working for them. People who transgress against
the Lord find Him working against them. Even nature
works against them. The sea is ready to drown them,
the earth to swallow them, the sun to smite them, the
winds to blow them, and the fires to burn them.
There is yet one more
difference. The Israelites were saved, and the
Egyptians were lost. Yes, it does make a difference
which side you are on. You cannot be on both sides.
Wouldn’t you rather be on the Lord’s side?
Look at the
deliverance of the Israelites. It is written in verse
30, "Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of
the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the
Egyptians dead upon the sea shore." The same
waters that formed a barricade for those who had
faith, formed a burial place for those who did not.
Those who had faith walked through the sea to a
garden. But those who did not have faith walked into
the sea to find a grave. Well did the Psalmist say,
"The Lord knoweth the way of the righteous; but
the way of the ungodly shall perish."
MARK THE PRACTICALITY.
Mr. G. A. Young wrote:
Some through the
waters,
some through the
flood,
Some through the fire,
but all through the
blood;
Some through great
sorrow,
but God gives a song,
In the night season
and all the day long.
From the song and
especially from Scripture we see that the children of
God are sometimes called to face trials and tests.
What are we to do? "Fear not," and
"stand still." As we pray we will see the
deliverance of the Lord. Then when He says "Go
forward," let us go forward. Faith in God turns
a barrier into a bridge. What is impossible with man
is perfectly possible with God.
And from this
experience we see that it was not the foe that put
the Red Sea in the path of the children of God. It
was the Father. His purpose was not to drown His
children, but to deliver them. You and I will come to
our Red Sea, and let us remember that it is not to
destroy us, but to develop us; not to give us grief,
but glory. Annie Johnson Flint saw this and wrote:
Have you come to the
Red Sea place in your life?
Where in spite of all
you can do,
There is no way out,
there is no way back,
There is no other way
but—through?
Then wait on the Lord
with a trust serene
Till the night of your
fear is gone;
He will send the wind,
He will heap the floods,
When He says to your
soul, "Go on."
And His hand will lead
you through—clear through—
Ere the watery walls
roll down,
No foe can reach you,
nor wave can touch,
No mightiest sea can
drown;
The tossing billows
may rear their crests,
Their foam at your
feet may break,
But over their bed you
shall walk dry shod
In the path that your
Lord shall make.
In the morning watch
’neath the lifted cloud,
You shall see the Lord
alone,
When He leads you on
from the place of the sea
To land you have not
known.
And your fears shall
pass as your foes have passed,
You shall be no more
afraid;
You shall sing His
praises in a better place,
A place that His hand
has made.
copyright 1999 Guido Evangelistic
Association
All Scripture verses are
quoted from the New King James Version..
Each month, Dr. Guido writes a
new sermon for his 25 minute radio broadcast, "The
Sower 25." This is published and included in
the mailing sent out each month, which includes the
daily devotional booklet, "Seeds From the
Sower," and "Sowing and
Reaping." To receive this material
absolutely free, click on the "Subscribe Now" button on the menu bar.
