FIRST THINGS FIRST

• DAY 5
• Fear Files – The Israelites
• Scripture – Exodus 14:10

And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord.

Exodus 14:10

Who doesn’t love new seasons? Everyone loves a new season, a new beginning! they are filled with expectations of good and good alone. The build-up is unmatched. That feeling that things will be different. Especially if the current or last season was rough. So it can be disenchanting when there is a hiccup on the path of the perfectly imagined and long-anticipated new season.

In our text, we meet the Israelites at the dawn of their new beginning. God had just done what He promised and what they had waited for, hoped for, cried for, and prayed about for four centuries. God had finally brought them out of Egypt. They will no longer be slaves, they are free. I assume they crossed the Egyptian border with such relief, as they imagined a world different from the one they had known all their lives. The one thing they never anticipated was a dead end.

What do you do when you meet a wall where you thought a path would be? What do you do when you encounter an obstacle in the wake of a miracle?

More often than we like to admit, this is reality. The business we were sure was God’s plan is barely surviving. The picturesque wedding is followed by an imperfect marriage. The ministry we quit all to start is not as easy breezy as we imagined. Not that we didn’t know though times would come. We only thought we would have time to settle before we would have to manage another obstacle. We almost want to scream, “It’s too early, God. Now is a bad time!”

Boxed In

The children of Israel had just gotten freedom, and now they are faced with the same challenge, the same obstacle, and the same enemy. As if that wasn’t enough, they were boxed in. Going back meant bondage, going forward meant returning to their captors, and turning aside would mean drowning. There was nowhere else to go, it was by all accounts a dead end.

Like any red-blooded human, when they saw their situation, they became afraid. The NLT says they panicked. They did two things out of this panic. 

First, they cried out to God. There is something to be said about calling out to God in distress. If you ever get in a tight spot, I pray that you call on God. I pray that you remember that He alone has the capacity to hear you and deliver. God is always attentive to us when we call on Him. David said, “I sought the Lord and He heard me and delivered me from all His fears.” -Psalm 34:4

Beloved, if you ever get stuck, if your new season brings new or old challenges, if you feel afraid, cry out to God, FIRST! Not later. Don’t wait to call on heaven, do it immediately.

The year is still new, so now is a good time to purpose in your heart that you will seek God first. Seek Him in and out of trouble. Call on Him in EVERY season and you will see the mighty deliverance of the Lord.

Tomorrow we will speak of their second response.

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Shalom.