ROOTED RENEGADE

Some often think the parting of the Red Sea for Moses and the Israelites as a Sunday school story or an old sermon when the preacher has run out of things to preach on. Come on, let’s be honest, we live in a world that views the Old Testament as it sounds “Old”. So hearing that God parted the Red Sea so Moses and God’s people could escape the enslavement of the Egyptians for good, sounds far fetched for a lot of people. You can look at pictures and try to imagine the waters standing tall and raging on two sides creating a road in between where there was some fish, maybe rocks, and who knows what else. I often wonder if they saw the fish swimming up as the waters parted! That would have really been a sight! I could imagine this now – but like most it was difficult to grasp for years.

Then I was reading Joshua 3-4 and I was reminded of how the Lord God takes care of his people and displays his power through their faith. Not only did the Lord part the waters for Moses so the people could be free, He did it for Joshua at the Jordan. While I have read this passage multiple times, it hit my heart different because I was able to see how the Lord loves His people in such a way that no river, no sea, or expanse of land, was going to stop Him from showing them His power in love. The Lord God spoke to Joshua and Joshua listened. Joshua didn’t complain or argue or become combative like a whining child because he didn’t like what the Lord God had to say. He obeyed the Word of the Lord and set for the Word of the Lord out of his mouth to the Lord’s people so they could hear it, and then choose to obey it. What is very important to understand here is a couple of things:

1. Joshua was attentive to the calling of the Lord (he was ready and actively seeking).
2. Joshua knew the Lord’s voice (separate from his own & the enemy).
3. Joshua heard & listened to the voice of the Lord (hearing and listening are not the same).
4. Joshua obeyed the voice of the Lord and his word (you may hear or listen, or both, but obeying the Lord God is a choice of will).
5. Joshua delivered the Word of the Lord to the Lord’s people (the people did not belong to Joshua, they belonged to the Lord God. Joshua understood that so he delivered the Lord’s word accordingly).
6. Joshua understood that the Lord’s people would have to choose to obey the Word of the Lord (Joshua knew he could not make them obey the Word of the Lord, but should they not, they would be the ones who would answer to the Lord).

Interestingly, the people obeyed also and saw the waters of the Jordan cut off and the Bible says that in verses 15-17, Chapter 3, “Now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest season. But as soon as the priests carrying the ark reached the Jordan, their feet touched the water at its edge and the water flowing downstream stood still, rising up in a mass that extended as far as Adam, a city next to Zarethan. The water flowing downstream into the Sea of Arabah – the Dead Sea – was completely cut off, and the people crossed opposite Jericho. The priests carrying the ark fo the Lord’s covenant stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed on dry ground until the entire nation had finished crossing.” (emphasis added mine)

Not only did the Lord God separate waters for Moses, he did it for Joshua – out of LOVE for His people. A concept we often struggle with but is clearly displayed when he parted the waters so they could pass through on dry ground. Nothing is too big for God and nothing is too small for God to do in your life! NOTHING! Matthew 19:26 says: “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible”. It was why Joshua knew that his faith allowed him to experience the Lord God the way hid did, hear him and be able to discern his voice among his own. The Lord gave Joshua courage to lead his people and he was with him.

So where is your dry ground?

You may be scratching your head right now like: “What does she mean?”, “I’m drowning over here, what dry ground?”, “Everything is flooding!”, “Is she crazy?!”. Well no, I am not crazy and if everything is flooding or you feel like you are drowning, well you are in the right position to get your feet on dry ground! You see, people who are drowning don’t know how to swim or can barely doggie paddle so they need someone to rescue them. They often look to friends on social media, people at work, drugs or alcohol, a spouse, pornography, sleeping / depression, etc. thinking that will either give them advice to live by, relief, or escape.

Friends can I tell you that NONE of those are going to rescue you from the issues that are causing the flood in your life. People can’t save you, addictions will kill you or destroy your life, and sleeping / depression is not quality of life that is promised to us by the Lord! There is a moment where you must decide like the Israelites and Joshua did, to make a choice:

1. Do you continue down the path you are going?
2. Do you call on the name of Jesus and ask Him to part the waters?

Let me be the first to say from personal experience that Option #1 leads to jails and institutions and I have watched people lose their lives spiritually and physically. Option #2 brings freedom, that while you may not see it yet, you will be able to see the waters parted, you will be able to look back one day and tell others how to experience it! It’s time to stop limiting God to just some words on a page meant to collect dust on a shelf until Sunday rolls around. Thinking that the stories are not relevant to your life today. They are. You may not be Moses or Joshua, but God can still part the waters in your life and set your feet on solid ground!

Joshua 4:24 says: “This is so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord’s hand is mighty, and so that you may always fear the Lord your God.”

I pray you find your dry ground and that the Lord shifts your feet to walk where they have never walked before. Amen

Faythe Kadona