Ex 14:15 "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on." (NIV)

Moses recovered from his setback of Ex. 5:23 and went on, with Aaron, to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt, only to be pushed up against the Red Sea by the Egyptian army. This is, of course, a familiar story. Passover and the Red Sea define the people of the Old Testament.

With no Dunkirk-style evacuation available to them, nor any means to defend themselves, the people cried out against Moses again:

Ex. 14:11-12"Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? . . . "

Moses seemed to have learned his lesson, because he didn’t take it to heart. He simply encouraged them to trust in the Lord for deliverance.

Surely there is a lesson for us here, but God’s next words to Moses are the ones that catch me.

"Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on." (Ex. 14:15)

Kind of reminds me of being on my grandparents’ farm as a child. We were expected to pitch in as we were able, and at times it fell to me to get the cows from the field at milking time. Cows aren’t the smartest animals in the world, nor are they fast. They just saunter and meander. It didn’t matter to them that I wouldn’t eat until they were milked. "Move on, move on," you feel like saying, but it doesn’t make much difference because they’re cows. Like I said, they aren’t the smartest animals in the world.

"Move on," was God’s message to the Hebrews. They were stuck, or at least they thought they were. I don’t blame them. It takes a lot of faith to look at the water and see a road to the promised land.

I live only a few miles from the open Atlantic. At times I’ve stood on the shore thinking about the fact that it’s ONLY a few thousand miles to England. Every year, adventurers attempt to cross over into the promised land of a world record by sailing unique vessels to Europe. A few years ago one nut started out in a sea kayak. He made it 10 or 20 miles before running into rough water and calling to be rescued.

While its easy to make fun of someone so foolish, I still admire the ability to look at the water and see a road to the promised land

When you’re standing on the beach with the water of adversity lapping at your toes and there is no way to go back, do you see the water or the road?

God doesn’t call us to stay on the beach. He continually calls us forward. That doesn’t mean the way is always plain to see. Sometimes it’s hidden until just the moment we need it. Like my friend Vince says, God always provides - rarely when we think he should, but never late.

God doesn’t do things half-way. He doesn’t take us to the water’s edge only to abandon us at our most vulnerable moment. He doesn’t call us out of the land of slavery just so he can slay us somewhere else. He calls us, instead, to a life of trust and devotion.

So, you know what that means? Don’t get stuck on the beach. Move on.

Be ON FIRE,

Troy