A very long time ago, there was a nation living in bondage. They had run to what looked like safety and rescue, but it ended up being a trap, and 400 years later theirs were the slaves’ backs on which Egypt had built the most powerful nation in the world. The story of how God freed them is one most of us are familiar with. But today I don’t want us to think about that story. I want us to think about what happened right after that story.

This nation, the Israelites, walked out of Egypt. They made their way to a place they were camped on the shore of the Red Sea. Best estimates guess at somewhere over 2 million people, plus all their livestock, It was a big campsite. But their escape wasn’t smooth sailing. The Egyptians got thinking about it all, about all the work they were going to have to do to rebuild their nation, and about what had happened to their nation as God was applying pressure to get them to let the Israelites go. The land was in shambles. So they changed their mind, gathered the army, and headed out to get their slaves back. God knew the Israelites weren’t up for the fight, so he dropped a pillar of fire between the Egyptian army and the Israelites, then he sent a great east wind which we’re told opened a channel up in the Red Sea to they could walk through on dry ground.

The amount of power being displayed in these events was stunning. The Israelites had just watched the most powerful nation in the world brought to its knees. They were camped next to a raging pillar of fire that was keeping their enemies away from them, and there was some sort of massive wind blasting across the sea creating a dry escape route. You’d think they’d be full of faith with seeing all that God was doing on their behalf. But it wasn’t like that. They were still slaves at heart, and they panicked. Their world was in an uproar, and they actually wanted to go back to Egypt where they felt safe, even if they were slaves.

The Israelites feared the Egyptian army, they feared the raging wind, the thrashing sea before them, the inferno behind them, and maybe more than anything they feared being free. Which reminds me that the only way to fight fear is with the greater fear of the Lord. 

Years back in early summer we took our kids and my nieces and nephews on a hike up to a little mountain lake in Montana. It was a beautiful area, where mountain goats were almost always visible frolicking on the cliffs surrounding the lake. We were early in the season, and there was still a fair amount of snow around, and not too far up the trail we had to climb over a snow bank. The dogs were with us. They always range out around us exploring, checking things out, and keeping us safe. But they suddenly were glued to our legs, whining and very on edge. I was wondering what was wrong, but then I got to the snow bank and stamped across the snow was a set of huge grizzly bear tracks. It was warm, the snow was melting fast, but the tracks were clear as crystal. We never saw that bear, but it was not very far away. I’m sure with the amount of noise all those kids were making, all the wildlife on the mountain was making a fast getaway. 

But here’s the point. Those tracks changed the way I saw the rest of that day. The fear of the grizzly created a heightened watchfulness, and some immediate conversations with kids about staying together and paying attention. 

We live in a world at war. God’s enemy Satan has an agenda. To defile, enslave, and destroy everything in this world. It’s a frustrating agenda because he’s always failing. With all the brokenness in this world, the King has come. The Kingdom is growing. Resurrection is not just an idea. Slavery can feel like adventure and desire and satisfaction and safety for a time, but in the end it always takes everything. And following God can feel like chaos and confusion. The scriptures tell us our God is a consuming fire, and following God requires us to let go of controlling our own lives. It can feel desperately dangerous, sort of like following a wild grizzly into the mountains. And in the end it is the only safe place. Because we’re never safe because of what we have, what we do, or where we are. We are only safe because of who we’re with.

Which leaves me with a final comment. Who are we with? Who, or what, are we following, chasing after with the best of our heart and being? Those same Israelites eventually made their way across the wilderness to the land God promised them and was sending them into. They stood at the border looking at an uncertain future. The people already in the land weren’t happy to see them. The wilderness had become known and safe. God’s provision of manna required little of them. Entering the land God was calling them to was going to require everything they had and more. It was bigger than they were. They were scared, and I’m sure there were more than a few fireside conversations. “Why are we doing this? What’s wrong with the desert? We have a good life here…” In that place Joshua stood and said, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Slavery can feel like safety, comfort, and security. As I look at my journey and the uncertainties of the future, I again find God calling us into a dangerous and costly adventure that asks us to abandon safety for abundance, comfort for faithfulness, and security for the hope and promise that what we know in this world is not the whole story. The world was made to be good, and the goodness still bubbles below the surface. The King has returned to his lands and is calling out his people. The seeds of the Kingdom are sprouting, green shoots are coming up everywhere. Life is upon us! There’s a well worn trail in front of you. You know where it goes. And there are these great tracks upon the snow leading up the mountain into the wild unknown. Which will you choose?

“…and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. (Exodus 14: 22)