January 20, 2012
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

God of the Wind and Waves

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Opening Prayer

If your life feels “stormy” or somewhat chaotic today, pray for God’s peace.

Read Exodus 14:19-31

[19] Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, [20] coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long. [21] Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, [22] and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. [23] The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. [24] During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. [25] He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt.” [26] Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” [27] Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the LORD swept them into the sea. [28] The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen-the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived. [29] But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. [30] That day the LORD saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. [31] And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

Reflect

“Don’t expect the worst; expect God. We need to spend more time waiting for God than waiting for trouble” (Lloyd John Ogilvie).

The cloud that had guided them to the edge of sea, to what looked like certain destruction, unexpectedly provides protection (19,20). God acted; the wind followed his bidding to make a way to safety (21,22). Our scientific minds ask the “how,” but the Bible bids us look beyond to the “who” and the “why” of meaning and purpose. Look how God is explicitly the subject of action (21,24,25,27). This is not a case of seeing God at work only “in the gaps” of human knowledge; rather, it is recognizing the Creator, irrespective of our understanding of mechanisms.

Moses’ affirmation of faith, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still” (14), had come to pass. The Egyptians themselves affirm this (25). A battle is not determined by military (or economic or political) might, but by the Lord. Pharaoh had “six hundred of the best chariots” and more (7), but the Israelite army (12:37,50) had no need to do anything, just to escape on dry ground. Stalin once said dismissively, “How many divisions does the Pope have?” Decades later the Soviet Empire collapsed without battles. A few years ago while in the former East Berlin, I was struck by the testimony of two verses in gold across the front of Berlin Cathedral: “See, I am with you always to the end of the world” and “Our faith is the victory that has conquered the world” (Matt. 28:20; 1 John 5:4).

Our thoughts may go to another occasion when following Christ led to a frightening, life-threatening storm. Christ asked, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then the winds and waves ceased at his command (Matt. 8:23-27).

Apply

Are you facing an overwhelming situation? Allow the God of the Exodus, the Christ of the storm, to still your heart. Pray this also for others living through a tempest.

Closing prayer

Lord, I need Your peace, the peace that centers me, that steadies me, that strengthens me amidst the storms of life.

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