It was 2008. My husband and I were living in a small town with our two children. We were a family of four with a mortgage, two vehicles, and a good paying job. It was the perfect set-up. Idyllic.
I hadn’t really thought we “had arrived.” We were 26 and there were so many more things we wanted to do with our life, but we had found a comfortable spot. We would ask each other in whispers as we lay awake in the dark at night, “Is this it? Are we where God wants us?” We had talked about missions and serving and everything that the American Dream wasn’t. We wanted more of that, but we weren’t really making any actions to move our feet.
Then, during the week of Thanksgiving, I came home from errands with the kids to find my husband home from work already. It was 1:00 in the afternoon. That wasn’t right. Turns out, his great paying job lost some big government contracts and they had to make cuts. We were suddenly a family of four, with a mortgage, 2 cars… and no job.
You hear about those blessings in disguise? This was one of those.
We were dragging our feet and God decided it was time to open the door and give us a shove. Suddenly faced with unemployment, we finally pursued the mission we were kicking around for years, and finding out they had a job opening for the both of us the very same day we called.
You may be familiar with the story of how God parted the Red Sea so that the Israelites could cross on dry land and escape the Egyptians who were coming after them?
Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you shall camp in front of Baal-zephon, opposite it, by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the sons of Israel, ‘They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will chase after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” And they did so. Exodus 14:1-4 NASB
One million-plus Israelites are pretty much shoved out of Egypt after God delivers His final blow to the stubborn Pharaoh. They start on their walk through the desert, being led by a large cloud by day and pillar of fire at night, God’s presence ever before them. Wherever He went….they followed.
They followed Him right up to the shores of the Red Sea. There they camped for a few nights and then hear the reports that the Egyptians changed their mind, they want their slaves back, and they are coming for them.
The Israelites panic, questioning why God would lead them to the shore of a sea, only to get captured.
Answer: to show them His power.
God had a plan, a way to rescue His people.
He uses Moses, who lifts his staff, and the sea parts. The Israelites cross on the sea bottom, on dry land, to the other side. Safe.
So, I haven’t always been great with geography, really knowing where things were located in Biblical times, but as I was doing this lesson with my 3rd and 4th grade Sunday School class recently, we were looking at the map of the course that the Israelites took out of Egypt. I always pictured that the Israelites had no choice but to cross the Red Sea, that the only way to get through the desert was to get on the other side of water.
But then I looked at the map.
They could have avoided the whole debacle if they had just walked a tad bit more to the North.
But they followed God, and God led them to a place where all hope seemed lost. Why didn’t He lead them around the sea in the first place? Why did He bring them to this point?
Answer: to show them His power.
That mission that God was leading us into? It was living on a Residential Campus with up to 7 delinquent teens at a time. Living with them, showing them Jesus, and helping them get their life back on track. It was the hardest 5 and half years of our lives. You don’t live surrounded by mental health issues, healing from trauma and abuse and not feel completely inadequate for the job. There were many times we wondered why God had prompted and led us to this Red Sea. There were so many times we felt inadequate to the task. But the answer, if you’re following the theme was to show us His power. We saw hearts change (ours included!), healing begun, and lives turned around. But not because of our work, but because of His.
I love how often the Old Testament reflects what is happening in our own lives today.
Have you followed God right where He led you? Has He brought you to a point where it feels like there really is no way out? Nearly certain failure? Why? If we’re doing what He has asked of us, things are supposed to get better, not worse. Right?
He promised to be with us, to see us through, but you will have trouble.
But that’s OK. Because THIS life is not the end.
Your plan of what you thought God was leading you into didn’t work out how you thought? The Israelites thought they were in the clear, headed for the Promise Land, too.
But God wasn’t done refining them. And He’s not done with you yet, either.
So, dear friend, be ready. He may be just about to show you His power.
Nichole Suvar
About the Author: Born out of her struggle with anxiety and depression, Nichole found help and solace in focusing on small moments of intentional living in everyday life. She is a writer who desires for women to know that they are created for a purpose and that even the struggle of anxiety can be a tool to help point us to our Savior and live a life that brings Him glory. In hopes of encouraging others to take small moments of each day to intentionally seek after Jesus, in every area of their life, she has been sharing her journey of striving to live an intentional life on her blog The Intentional Life. Nichole currently lives in Fort Wayne, IN, with her husband Paul, and three children, Owen, Hannah, and Madeline. In her free time, she enjoys training for half marathons, discovering new hiking paths, being an advocate for various mission organizations, and curling up with a good mystery novel. You can learn more about Nichole and practical ways to live an intentional life by visiting her blog or Instagram page. You can also receive her weekly blog posts in your inbox by signing up here.
