Beautiful Words Blog | A Permanent Solution by John Moropoulos | Gateway Christian Fellowship

Ex 14.13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.

He loves us in spite of our doubts.

My wife and I spent three weeks in Hawaii earlier this year.  I am always amazed to think that so much beauty came for such indescribable chaos, so much life from the eruption of volcanos, hot lava and ash cooling, settling and creating the organic basis for equally unimaginable life.

One of my favorite things to do is to stand on the lanai of our friends’ home and look out across the Pailolo channel, the body of water that separates the islands of Molokai and Lanai.  The distance between the two islands is about the same as the distance that the children of Israel looked across as they stood on the banks of the Red Sea.  I like to imagine what kind of things were said, other than, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?”

What a perfect expression of human doubt and fear, mingled together to create a back-handed accusation.  It was followed with, “Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt?”  Nasty words to be sure.

The verbal attack on God and Moses continued, “Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? “  It finally ends with  “For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” A perfect expression of doubt.

I think of the many times my reaction to God has been no better, just as bitter and accusatory.  Just as filled with doubt.

Then I imagine the waters parting.  Dry land appearing between one shore and the other, the overwhelming mixture of joy and guilt.  Then I think of that moment when my feet step where the shore had been.

The Passover Seder teaches every Jew to see themselves as if they personally came out of Egypt.  I think in truth we all did.  We all were there, denying that we knew Him, hiding out of fear and shame, remembering the feel of the nail in one hand and the hammer in the other, not believing in the very resurrection He told us was coming, denying the report when we heard it, “He is risen!”

But the waters did part.  Dry land did appear.  And they walked through.  Jesus did rise, bodily, in triumph, from the grave.  And He said to them, “Come see where nails pierced My hands and feet,“  He didn’t say that to shame them, but to encourage them.  And He encourages us:  “See the waters part.  See that I have risen.  Follow Me!”

God grant it!