Way-Maker
"'Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horseman.'" (Exodus 14:15b, 16, 18)
There's no way.
How many times have I said this in the face of a seemingly impossible situation?
Certainly the newly freed Israelite captives must have had that thought when they were looking ahead of them at the expanse of Red Sea and over their shoulders at the advancing Egyptian army.
There was no way.
And, in fact, there wasn't a way...until the Way-Maker made one.
Again and again throughout Scripture, we see examples of God making a way where there is no way. We might wonder why He so often chooses to work drastically. He could, after all, have led his people out of Egypt along an easy, clear-cut path to freedom. He could have plucked Joseph out of the cistern his brothers threw him into and sent him merrily along back to his father. He could have healed Lazarus' sickness long before it ever landed him in a (temporary) grave.
But just think how many wandering souls across all generations have looked at the example of God parting the Red Sea and have found their own faith and hope and courage emboldened by it. This would not have been the case if the path had been smooth and obvious. There would not have been such a story to tell.
The Way-Maker wants us to be in awe of Him and what He can do not because He's on some kind of egotistic power-trip but because He knows reverence for Him keeps us correctly connected to the Source of true power.
The next time I fall into thinking, "There's no way," I need to remember the Way-Maker and reframe my thoughts: "I may not be able to see the way right now, but I can look to the One I know is making it."
"In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling. (Exodus 15:13 NIV)
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I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to tell me what you really think. Years ago, I explained to my then-two-year-old that my appointment with a counselor was "sort of like going to a doctor who will help me be a better mommy." Without blinking, she replied, "You'd better go every day." All of which is just to say I've spent some time in the school of brutal honesty!