Exodus 14:10-15 And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD. And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness. 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. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:
One thing I learned early on in my Christian life is that it is a life of movement. And not just movement—specifically, it is a life of forward movement. God was not finished with you at salvation, that was just the beginning. There is a great future ahead for us, and I’m not just talking about heaven, although that is the ultimate destination in a great future. God has a future for you here on this earth and a purpose for you to fulfill. But it is vital and imperative that we continue to make forward progress if we are to find, follow, and fulfill God’s plan for our life.
This is a story we know well: the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt. God’s plan for them from the beginning was that one day they possess the Promised Land. But until that became a reality, there were some bumps along the road. They spent over 400 years in Egypt—most of that time as slaves. But now it was time for them to go to the Promised Land. I’m sure they were jubilant as God allowed them to leave the slavery and misery of Egypt behind them. But of course, the hardness of Pharaoh’s heart would not allow him to let them go without one last attempt at stopping them.
Now they came to an abrupt stop. In front of them was the Red Sea stopping their progress, behind them were the Egyptians ready to take advantage of their position. Moses encouraged them while at the same time crying out to God in desperation. God’s answer to him was straightforward:
“speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward.”
There it is. “Don’t cry to me—just keep going forward. “But there were obstacles. The enemy was behind them, there was a wall of water in front of them, what were they to do? Keep going forward. They would never see what God could do for them if they refused to continue forward.
The same is true for us as we progress in our faith and in our Christian life. There will be many times when we will be tempted to look at the failures behind us, the problems around us, or the obstacles in front of us, and quit going forward. But the same advice that God gave to them is good for us too: keep going forward.
Don’t go back, you’ve already been there. There was nothing really good for the Israelites to go back to. Although when times got tough, they often would think in good terms about their life in Egypt, the fact of the matter is, that life was not good. How often do those who were saved a little bit later in life hit a tough patch and look back at the old unsaved life favorably, when in fact, there was really not much good about it. Remember that the to step and going back is looking back.
Don’t stand still, you’ve already made progress. Although the Egyptians were now chasing them, they had already made progress and were well on their way to getting out of there. They had seen God do great things to get them to that point, and yet now they forgot all of that and focused on the immediate problem in front of them. I have seen Christians over the years who have a tough time or get discouraged about a particular failure in their life. They allow that to stop their forward progress. When that happens, the best thing to do is not dwell on the mistakes you are currently making, but to look back at all the progress you have already made. You may have stumbled, but you are further down the road than you were before. Get up and get going again.
Don’t stop moving, you’re close to blessings. They were so close to the blessings of the Promised Land. And yet, they complained that God brought them out there to kill them. If God had not had something planned for them, He would not have brought them out in the first place. The sad thing about those who stop going forward is that they miss out on everything that God has planned for them, they miss a great future. How often does someone stop just short of the blessings that God has for them?
No matter what you are facing now, or will face in the future, don’t let it stop you. When you don’t know what to do, God reminds you to keep going forward.
