After a harrowing experience comes to solution with victory and relief, what do you do?  My immediate response is Hallelujah!  After all these years, I know it is all God who rescues and saves us from circumstances beyond our control.  He also saves us from ourselves and selfish thinking.  Our first thought should be for God who is at work, delivering us from the storms of life that blow through.  He was and is there all along, whether we recognize Him at work or not, to guide us through on dry land to the other side.

Let’s just stop and praise the Lord right now for all He has done, is doing and will do in our lives to protect us as He provides all He knows we need!  Sing this song of praise with the Israelites!  It’s a beautiful song of testimony about the power and majesty, care and compassion of God!

Exodus 15, The Message

^1-8 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to God, giving voice together,

I’m singing my heart out to God—what a victory!
    He pitched horse and rider into the sea.
God is my strength, God is my song,
    and, yes! God is my salvation.
This is the kind of God I have
    and I’m telling the world!
This is the God of my father—
    I’m spreading the news far and wide!
God is a fighter,
    pure God, through and through.
Pharaoh’s chariots and army
    he dumped in the sea,
The elite of his officers
    he drowned in the Red Sea.
Wild ocean waters poured over them;
    they sank like a rock in the deep blue sea.
Your strong right hand, God, shimmers with power;
    your strong right hand shatters the enemy.
In your mighty majesty
    you smash your upstart enemies,
You let loose your hot anger
    and burn them to a crisp.
At a blast from your nostrils
    the waters piled up;
Tumbling streams dammed up,
    wild oceans curdled into a swamp.

⁹ The enemy spoke,
    “I’ll pursue, I’ll hunt them down,
I’ll divide up the plunder,
    I’ll glut myself on them;
I’ll pull out my sword,
    my fist will send them reeling.”

^10-11 You blew with all your might
    and the sea covered them.
They sank like a lead weight
    in the majestic waters.
Who compares with you
    among gods, O God?
Who compares with you in power,
    in holy majesty,
In awesome praises,
    wonder-working God?

^12-13 You stretched out your right hand
    and the Earth swallowed them up.
But the people you redeemed,
    you led in merciful love;
You guided them under your protection
    to your holy pasture.

^14-18 When people heard, they were scared;
    Philistines writhed and trembled;
Yes, even the head men in Edom were shaken,
    and the big bosses in Moab.
Everybody in Canaan
    panicked and fell faint.
Dread and terror
    sent them reeling.
Before your brandished right arm
    they were struck dumb like a stone,
Until your people crossed over and entered, O God,
    until the people you made crossed over and entered.
You brought them and planted them
    on the mountain of your heritage,
The place where you live,
    the place you made,
Your sanctuary, Master,
    that you established with your own hands.
Let God rule
    forever, for eternity!

¹⁹ Yes, Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and riders went into the sea and God turned the waters back on them; but the Israelites walked on dry land right through the middle of the sea.

* * *

^20-21 Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine, and all the women followed her with tambourines, dancing. Miriam led them in singing,

Sing to God—
    what a victory!
He pitched horse and rider
    into the sea!

Traveling Through the Wilderness

^22-24 Moses led Israel from the Red Sea on to the Wilderness of Shur. They traveled for three days through the wilderness without finding any water. They got to Marah, but they couldn’t drink the water at Marah; it was bitter. That’s why they called the place Marah (Bitter). And the people complained to Moses, “So what are we supposed to drink?”

²⁵ So Moses cried out in prayer to God. God pointed him to a stick of wood. Moses threw it into the water and the water turned sweet.

²⁶ That’s the place where God set up rules and procedures; that’s where he started testing them.

God said, “If you listen, listen obediently to how God tells you to live in his presence, obeying his commandments and keeping all his laws, then I won’t strike you with all the diseases that I inflicted on the Egyptians; I am God your healer.”

²⁷ They came to Elim where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees. They set up camp there by the water.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

After sighs of relief, high fives all around, a song of praise to God breaks loose and all join in the singing.  The women began a worship team of praise with tambourines in a repeating chorus of praise to the One and Only who saved them.  Imagine the scene with of praises rippling through the twelve tribes of Israel with family in tow, marching to the other side with God, for God, singing to God!  Wow, what a scene, right?  Kind of like heaven?  May our first thoughts always be praise to God, our Provider, Healer and Deliverer!

Then only three days later…on the other side from slavery to freedom…they complain because they cannot find good water.  They go to their illustrious, trusted leader to raise their complaint about the water situation.  Moses responds by going directly to God.  God provides.  God always provides.  At least the people knew who to go to for help.  Who do we immediately go to for help?

God shows and tell his people WHO is really in charge, WHO will provide and protect them IF they will listen, really hear and obey.  I AM your Healer.  Because of God’s love, care and compassion for those who believe, honor, obey, and love Him back, He still provides a way out for us to get to the other side of troubles.

Listen, trust and obey.  God authority and power has not left the building of our souls!

Lord,

Thank you for all the times you provided dry land through troubles so we could get to the other side and praise you.  You are God.  We are not.  To you be all glory, honor and praise!

In Jesus Name, Amen!