Seeing is Believing!

Exodus 14: 19-21 -  Then the angel of God who went before the host of Israel moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them,  coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness; and the night passed without one coming near the other all night.  Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.  And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 

It seems that the Israelites are trapped…and so they let their human weakness of fear overtake them….and they see the end coming.  They cried out to the Lord…and they attacked Moses…but God had something great to show them….something so unbelievable that they wouldn’t have believed it if they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes. What excitement they must have felt as they watched the sea part and show land. How it must have brought a reverent fear of God as they felt the strong winds dry the bottom of the sea for them to walk on. What a quiet awe they must have felt as they walked between the two walls of water to the other side.

We are no different…seemingly trapped…crying out to God to save us. Then God opens up a way totally unbelievable to our human minds. I think back to those first days of my divorce.  I had left my home…stayed with a friend the first weekend….wasted money on a hotel the next week…knowing Christmas break was soon and I could live with mom and dad the two weeks of break…but having no place to go after that. I had not lived on my own in 30 years…and could not conceive of paying bills…buying furniture…buying food…paying rent.  So I spent my time worrying…and calling numbers I had circled in the newspapers.

I did not scream and cry out to God..I did not feel worthy. My relationship with him the last few years before the divorce was very non-existent. I just laid down and gave up…thinking that the best I could do was a run down trailer….with no furniture…in a seemingly bad neighborhood. I couldn’t help but let my guilt trap me into thinking that God was going to let me live that way to teach me a lesson. I will never forget the sweet morning my colleague at school came over and said she knew one more place I should look at before making up my mind.

She took me to the home of her sweet parents…who had passed away just months apart 8 months before. They had not had the strength to go through their things….to decide what to do with the precious possessions of their parents they missed so much. She let me name my own rent price….and they left all the things I needed in the home. God opened up a way for me to live in a home that was greater than I would ever deserve….complete with   furniture …washer/dryer …dishes…sheets….towels….iron(the best iron I have ever used…lol)…even soap… shampoo….and a freezer stocked with veggies and meat ….AMAZING! I won’t ever forget how unbelievable it felt to have God love me so much…even though I had pretty much deserted him.

God…you are so amazing.  I thank you for the reminder this morning that you are always there…just waiting to show us your amazing love. Help me to always remember that you have a great plan to protect and guide us….that you can part the waters of any storm we find ourselves in…so we can walk through on dry…solid ground to the other side. Help me this day to always think bigger than my human brain conceives…and just wait…knowing that something amazing is going to happen. And God…thank you for loving me in spite of what I deserve…thank you for sending your son to pay the price of salvation for me…so I can enjoy your love with no strings attached. Amen.