September 10th Weekly Word
Waiting on the Wind
“Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left” (Exodus 14:21-22).
Can you imagine this scene? It’s one of the more awe-inspiring moments in all of the Bible.
The animated film Prince of Egypt portrays the event effectively with dramatic wonder. Moses strolls out into the water, holds up his staff, then plunges it into the sea. Immediately, the water retreats from him, and within seconds a pathway between the waters opens up for the Israelites to cross.
Now, I love this film because I think it captures the heart of the story about Israel’s deliverance. But the producers did take some dramatic license by deviating from the biblical narrative in some parts – including this one.
Notice in Exodus, the sea did not immediately divide. Rather, God drove it back through a strong wind that blew throughout the night, which means ... the Israelites had to wait. No easy task – especially with the Egyptians pressing hard behind them, intent on their destruction.
Friends, sometimes God’s deliverance in our lives is like that strong wind. It may not be immediate or discernable at first. It might not even be pleasant initially. I’d imagine while the Israelites waited on the shore of the Red Sea, it was quite blustery and cold with the wind pushing back the waters.
But I believe it’s in those difficult moments that God wants us to cling to him and trust that he will make a way. After all, the strong wind that feels like hardship could in fact be the means of God’s deliverance in your life. And certainly part of the point of any affliction is to increase our dependence on him.
So whatever you’re facing right now, go into the last half of this week remembering the strong wind that God used to deliver Israel – as well as these words from St. Paul that remind us of the same valuable lesson:
“For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us (2 Corinthians 1:8–10).
Darin+