“As Pharaoh approached, the people of Israel looked up and panicked when they saw the Egyptians overtaking them. They cried out to the LORD,” -Exodus 14:10 NLT
A cul-de-sac is essentially not a thorough street–closed at one end, it is similar to a dead end but it usually leaves room for one to do a u-turn and drive out of there. There are several cul-de-sac type of predicaments in the Bible when God’s people find themselves in between a rock and a hard place–where it seems that the only way out is back. Moses and the children of Israel found themselves in this situation shortly after their exodus from Egypt.
Before them was the raging Red Sea and behind them was a raging Pharaoh. What were they to do? If you’re familiar with the story you know that God parts the Red Sea and hardens the sea floor for the people to cross through it to safety and away from danger.
Many times God will have us going in the right direction, we will obey Him and walk in faith, but we will still find ourselves in cul-de-sac type situations anyway. Why? Well because God wants us to trust in Him even when things seem impossible. He wants to come through for us in miraculous ways so we can continue on the journey with strength and a firmer reliance on Him.
The Israelites did the right thing when they came to this seeming dead end, they might have worried and complained but “They cried out to the LORD” also. And this makes all the difference. I remember when the Lord was moving us out of the Food Bank we were renting from into a better more spacious building. We stepped out in faith, moved into the new place and invested in renovations and all that kind of stuff. However shortly after the move certain people left the church. And I began to worry and ask “Lord why would you have us move only have people leave us?, Are the finances going to go down? Will I need to get a second job?” etcetera etcetera. But God had a plan all along. He might have taken some folks out but He brought more in as well. God wants us to trust Him and remain on the path that He has put us in. Even when it seems like you hit a dead end remember to always cry out to Him and have a cul-de-sac kind of faith!
Before them was the raging Red Sea and behind them was a raging Pharaoh. What were they to do? If you’re familiar with the story you know that God parts the Red Sea and hardens the sea floor for the people to cross through it to safety and away from danger.
Many times God will have us going in the right direction, we will obey Him and walk in faith, but we will still find ourselves in cul-de-sac type situations anyway. Why? Well because God wants us to trust in Him even when things seem impossible. He wants to come through for us in miraculous ways so we can continue on the journey with strength and a firmer reliance on Him.
The Israelites did the right thing when they came to this seeming dead end, they might have worried and complained but “They cried out to the LORD” also. And this makes all the difference. I remember when the Lord was moving us out of the Food Bank we were renting from into a better more spacious building. We stepped out in faith, moved into the new place and invested in renovations and all that kind of stuff. However shortly after the move certain people left the church. And I began to worry and ask “Lord why would you have us move only have people leave us?, Are the finances going to go down? Will I need to get a second job?” etcetera etcetera. But God had a plan all along. He might have taken some folks out but He brought more in as well. God wants us to trust Him and remain on the path that He has put us in. Even when it seems like you hit a dead end remember to always cry out to Him and have a cul-de-sac kind of faith!
- WHEN HAVE YOU FOUND YOURSELF IN A CUL-DE-SAC TYPE OF SITUATION? HOW DID GOD DELIVER YOU? IF HE DIDN’T WERE YOU FOLLOWING HIM OR YOURSELF?
- “Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve one’s condition” -?