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Can you imagine how mighty the miracle of the Red Sea was? The Jews are running for dear life! Their lives are flashing before their eyes as they see the vastness of the Red Sea before them and hear the sounds of the angry Egyptian army behind them. In that very moment of fear, God does one of the most powerful and sovereign acts in all of the Bile – actually, in all of human history! – he parts the Red Sea. Not only that – He makes the ground beneath, ground that had been mucky for several thousand years, instantly and completely dry so that it serves as a sure foundation for the safe passage of the chosen people of God.

Surely they were running so fast that they didn’t have time to ponder, at the moment, just how marvelous of a miracle they had just witnessed. God in Heaven had violated multiple natural laws in order to provide protection for His beloved people in the wilderness. One would think that, after a miracle such as this, the people of God would never, ever, ever have problems trusting God. Yet that is far from reality! Almost instantly, after witnessing a spectacular violation of natural law, they began to shrink back in fear at the next trial before them – hunger.

“Moses! We should have never listened to you. We are going to die out here! People are going to come later and find our bones out here because we were idiots and followed you out here.”

Fear caused these rational people to become irrational. It caused people who had seen the most spectacular miracle ever performed by God become doubtful that God could even provide their next meal. Fear literally conformed these people to the image of the lost world around them.

We might be quick to chastise the wilderness Jews for their fear because such chastisement is apparently warranted. Yet we find ourselves in the wilderness ourselves today. We’re in the midst of a real and serious pandemic, and no one can deny that COVID19 is real and must be taken seriously. Yet the people of God are once again screaming, “Moses! We are going to die out here! People are going to come later and find our bones out here.” As such, at times, we’ve become as paralyzed in fear as the Jews in the wilderness 3500 years ago.

Yet it shouldn’t be this way, church. We’ve witnessed a miracle that far surpasses that of the Red Sea experience. You see, we’ve experienced the indwelling presence of God’s Holy Spirit in our lives. We’ve experienced salvation in a way the Jews could have never imagined! We’ve been redeemed, forgiven, and granted an undeserved inheritance! Yet in the midst of a pandemic, we find ourselves forgetting about God’s sovereignty and goodness that raised Jesus from the dead, provided that salvation, and caused His Spirit to indwell us.

Let’s refocus our lives on our Red Sea miracle – the cross and our salvation before the Lord. Let’s take COVID19 seriously, and take reasonable precautions depending upon our individual needs and circumstances.

Let us also remember that God is still in the water-parting business and that He still has the whole world in His hand. Let’s not live our lives in fear – fear that the Enemy uses to cheat us out of our peace and our joy. Let’s celebrate the salvation miracle of God and rest comfortably knowing that He will “never leave us, nor forsake us” (Hebrews 13:15)

Finally, realize this: exercising faith in the Lord is HARD. Fear is easy. And even when we exercise our faith as we should, our attitude of faith may not totally eliminate the uneasiness and apprehension that this pandemic leaves us with. It will, however, allow us to go ahead and act in obedience to Christ and cause us to rest in His goodness and power and we come to the awareness that the power of the Almighty is bigger than any pandemic we will every face.

Let me leave you with words from an unknown author: “Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered. There was no one there.”

Blessing in Christ,

Pastor Myke