Seize Your Red Sea Moments

Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it.
–Psalm 37:5

God wants us to seize our Red Sea moments. When we respond in this manner, we are not denying the difficulty of the situation, but we are choosing to trust God to deliver us through the situation. Let me share an example of seizing a Red Sea moment from my own experience.

Not long ago, the church I pastor completed a massive building project. During this process, God gave us a Red Sea moment not only to deliver us through a challenge but also to remind us to trust Him for the future.

In March 2009, we were preparing the plans to present to the church. At the time, our nation was in the worst recession since the Great Depression. People’s retirement savings disappeared, thousands of people were being laid off every month, banks were in danger of collapsing–and we were talking about the largest church-building program in modern history.

Our situation began to look more and more impossible. I admit that, like the Israelites looking at the Red Sea, I was looking at our nation’s bleak financial outlook and beginning to wonder if God could truly lead us through it. I prayed, “God, if You want us to move forward, I need a sign–and I need it today.” That is a terrible way to pray, I admit, but I was desperate. So I asked God for a sign that would let me know if we were following His leadership for our church.

That very day, I received a phone call from a church member, who said, “We have been praying about this project, and we want to make a lead gift to get us started.” Several other families, too, stood up and said, “We want to be a part of this in a significant way.”

By the fall of 2009, God had miraculously provided one half of the funds for the entire project. But it did not stop there. Our church members realized this was our Red Sea moment. They saw that God had supernaturally parted the waters, and instead of retreating in fear, they said, “Let’s go forward.” They gave sacrificially to make it possible. They truly seized this Red Sea moment. And because of our church’s faithfulness and generosity, we were able to raise the full amount. What a testimony to God’s amazing deliverance!

Of course, I know we will face other challenges as a congregation–and as individual believers. When God is at work, there are always going to be challenges. But you know what? The same God who has led us to this point is going to lead us to the other side.

We don’t know what will happen in the future, but we can be confident that God will work through us to deliver us through our circumstances. That is what Red Sea moments are all about.

***

Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Seizing Your Red Sea Moment” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2005.

Scripture quotations are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.