Trusting God in the Midst of a Trial {Exodus 14}

If you find it hard trusting God in the midst of a trial, this story from the Old Testament will build your faith to begin trusting Him even when it's hard.

 

Are you in the midst of a trial?

Or do you feel like you’ve gone from trial to trial to trial?  Then this video is for you:

{if you are reading this in email or feed, come on over to the blog to see the video and join the discussion!}

In Exodus 14, the infamous story of Moses parting the Red Sea is told.  As the story unfolds, we see the mighty power of our God.  I  mean seriously – the Red Sea literally rolled back and the ground was dry for the Israelites!

Some skeptics have said that the Israelites did not cross the Red Sea but rather they crossed the Sea of Reeds, a sea nearby that is only a few inches deep. The humor in this is –an even greater miracle would have had to happen for the entire Egyptian army to drown in just a few inches of water!!! Right?

What a joy it was, this past week, to meditate on the great God we serve.

I hope you will take a few minutes to watch the video above I made just for you { ❤ } on Exodus 14 and how it applies to us now. 😉

The Significance of the Passover

One section of the Good Morning Girls reading, I did not address in the video is the night of the Passover.  I would be remiss if I glossed over the powerful symbolism of the 10th plague that led Pharaoh to finally let the people of Israel go.

Unlike the previous 9 plagues, this plague required the Israelites to do something. God commanded each family to kill an unblemished lamb at twilight.  Then they were to put some of the blood on the top and sides of their doorway.  After, they were to roast the lamb and eat it along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

Then God said in Exodus 12: 

12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. 13 The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.

14 “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.

Now fast forward to Jesus headed to the Upper Room to eat His Last Supper with His disciples.  They are celebrating the Feast of Passover.

Matthew 26:17-19 says:

17 Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?” 18 He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’” 19 And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover.”

Do you see the foreshadowing in Exodus.  Jesus was crucified ON the Passover.

He is our Passover Lamb!

God’s judgement has –PASSED OVER– us because of the blood of the lamb.  He has covered all of our sin!

Hallelujah!  What a Savior!

I can hardly contain myself – this week’s reading was so incredibly meaty and good!

Am I alone in this? I’m thinking no…it’s Friday Fellowship!  Come fellowship with us in the comments.

Walk with the King,

Courtney

****Chime In****

1.) What did you learn this week during your time in Exodus 11-15?

2.)  In the video, I suggested you think back over the past 10 years and consider the trials you have faced. What trials has God brought you through and how does remembering, grow your trust in God for what you are facing today?

 

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29 Comments

  1. Thanks! I really needed to hear this. I actually sent up a silent prayer a little while before I started surfing the Internet because I felt so empty, and then THIS post is what I see. I think I will be accepting your challenge and making my list over the next few days. The Lord has been so gracious to me, and I know he’ll lead us thru this trial as well. The example about Isrealites and the Red Sea especially spoke to my heart tonight.

    1. Hi Leah. You might really enjoy a book called “The Red Sea Rules” by Robert Morgan. You can get it fromAmazon. It’s a tiny little book to leave by your bedside with 10 God-given strategies for difficult times. My favorite is rule #1: “Realize that God means for you to be where you are”. Blessings, Rosi

  2. Thank you so much for this! It was exactly what I needed to hear tonight! The past week or so I have been really struggling with an important test I have coming up…one I have failed twice before, and this is my final time to take it. Lately, I have been finding myself reverting to my old habits of cowering in place, rather than facing the challenge head on and trusting God. Your post today was a huge help! Thanks!

  3. Loved your video Courtney!! It was so powerful! Especially the part where you talked about God getting the glory in our most desperate moments…when we know… that we know… that we know…that it was only by God’s hand that we were delivered. I’ve experienced God’s deliverance in moments like those and treasure the remembrance of His mighty hand at work on my behalf. I still to this day give Him the glory!

    Walking in His Grace,
    Laurie

  4. Good Morning Girls!

    This weeks reading of Exodus 11-15 has been a real eye-opener for me. A week of looking back and seeing the miracles that God has performed in my life and that of my little family. At the time of my biggest trial (the one that brought me to the feet of Jesus) all I could see were dark days and endless nights, but God got me through, one tear at a time. He fought the battles for me, especially those that were raging in my heart and He tought me to trust and lean on Him alone for what I needed. Reading through this weeks passages, I finally saw that miracle. I was able to see where we are now, where I am now and how far I have come along my journey. I praise God for His love, Grace and Mercies everyday and thank you Courtney for your wisdom and encouragement. xx

  5. Absolutely beautiful, Courtney. And I needed to be reminded of this today. Especially the part about the Israelites thinking they were going to die so they may as well go back to the familiar- Egypt. Oh I have thought and dreamed of going back to our town and old life BUT GOD has brought us here for His glory. I think I miss our old life, but when I take time to remember all the hardships, I am glad we are out. THANK YOU for this awesome reminder today.

  6. I am SO living this study! Absolutely AMAZING how SOAKING in a chapter a day REALLY allows you to absorb each verse & hear God speaking it to you. I could go on & on…but I won’t 🙂 My main take away is that God TRULY is the same today, yesterday & forever. We serve the SAME God who parted the Red Sea, hardened/softened Pharaoh & the Egyptian’s heart. My prayers have become so much more BOLD as a result of being reminded of God’s MIGHTY power. I realized I was limiting God to what I think He would/could do vs completely releasing my honest prayers to what He can/will do!

  7. Courtney, thank you for your video. It was when you mentioned not giving way to fear but waiting, being silent and showing our faith in God by trusting that he will show us the way that a light bulb went off in my head about a trial my husband and I are going through right now. I’ve been resisting counseling due to the fear of the unknown and I feel that God has been waiting for me to get to a place of trust in Him that he will lead us and protect our marriage if I trust in Him to do so. Thank you, again, for the video. It is so nice to hear from you in that way.

    I’ve gleaned a message of remembering God’s wonders, the fact that my faith will be hard for others to understand and even for me to understand at times but I must continue to trust God even when things are unclear or family/friends are put off by my faith and that God loves me and knows me better than I know myself.

    I pray you and your family have an enjoyable weekend! God Bless 🙂

    JoLynnH

  8. What a powerful connection to Matthew 26 – Jesus is our Passover Lamb! I recently heard someone say that the old testament is the new testament concealed, and the new testament is the old testament revealed. This statement could not be more true – God ALWAYS follows through on His promises, and His plan is ALWAYS in motion. Most of my Bible study in the past has been in the new testament, and I never really dug deep enough into the old testament to see how everything really does point to Jesus. I’m so thankful for this study and how God is revealing His truth to us each day through His word!

  9. I have enjoyed the study this week. I have seen many things in the text this week, such as – God: is faithful, knows and wants what is best for us, is our provider, is our redeemer, is orderly, is our healer (Jehovah rapha), gives us good blessings (I’m specifically thinking about the 12 springs of water and the 70 date palms He blessed the Israelites with after 3 days of traveling in the wilderness – chapter 15).

    I also love how this text points to the fact that God wants all people to know and serve Him – to turn from their wicked ways to Him. All of the plagues on Egypt were to show the false god worshipping Egyptians that the Lord is the One true God. God could have taken the Israelites out of Egypt without going through all of that . The text in 14:1-4 tells me that the purpose of God hardening Pharoah’s heart was so the “the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord”. I looked up the word “Lord” in that verse (used Strong’s Concordance) and the original word is Yehovah (Jehovah) meaning “the existing one” and “the proper name of the One true God”. So, I understand that as saying God hardened the heart of Pharaoh so that the Egyptians would know that God is the One true God! I believe He wanted them to turn from their wicked ways to worship Him alone.

    2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance. “

    1 Timothy 2:4 “3This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. ”

    Thanks for the great video Courtney!!

  10. It was a week of studying. See the miracle of God rescuing the Israelites. Also this has helped me to have devotional time.

  11. I am loving what God himself is revealing to me during this study!!! Thank you for guiding us and sharing your thoughts and perspective. God has been teaching me a lot about who he is and who he has called me to be!! I’m excited for the first time in my life to be reading …and understanding what I’m reading!!! Thank you!!
    Loved the image of the cloud leading and fire following …made me realize that I’m called to keep walking and that he is paving the way for me to get there and to not waste time looking back because he’s got that covered too! I’m called to follow and he’s fighting the dark for me!!!

  12. Passover is amazing. In our home we no longer celebrate easter, we’ve replaced it with what’s biblical which is Passover. We want to live a biblical life that reflects how Jesus lived His life while on earth. He showed us how to walk it out while He was here on earth. In our home we feel we are to look like and walk in our Messiah’s footsteps the best we can. Keeping Passover is one of many ways to do this. We are grafted into Israel which come with everything….blessings, curses, Feasts, Sabbath, eating clean, etc. You can’t pick and choose if you’re grafted into Israel. One interesting thing to note, all of Israel was told do observe Passover, not the Jews but the entirety of Israel. I say this because all too often we think of Passover as a jewish thing, it’s not. It’s a biblical thing. Passover has SO much depth and meaning. There are many Christians today who see these things and keep Passover. They’re having Passover seders at their churches and homes because our Messiah is in every part of Passover. He knows what He is doing! He is awesome!

  13. Also wanted to say that I’ve really enjoyed reading through the bible and sharing. I’m so glad that women from all walks/faiths can come here to share, to learn and to live well together!

  14. You mentioned the foreshadowing. I study the Hebrew Roots, and here’s another foreshadow. When the blood was applied to the lintel and doorposts it would have resembled the Hebrew letter ‘Tav’. The meaning of this letter is “the cross, mark, sign, covenant”. The ancient form of this letter is shaped like the cross. Also, the 10th plague was the death of the first-born son. God was showing them a picture of what was to come – the death of His First-born Son on the cross to end our bondage to sin (as they were in bondage in Egypt).

    1. That’s very true. The Ancient form of the letter tav also means a signal or a monument. All these meanings are very significant in that God was putting His mark, His sign on their doorposts. This was the covenant He made with them, to pass over the homes with the sign, the signal, the mark. This sign, signal, mark set them apart…made them holy and separate from those who did not serve the God of Avraham, Yitzach and Ya’acov. Passover was to be a monument that was kept, remembered and observed throughout all the generations of Israel to present day and beyond (Exodus 12:14). An interesting note in Exodus 12:38 says that a mixed crowd went out with Israel…they were grafted in to Israel and were no longer foreigners or strangers. Also, Exodus 16:16 – this is where Jews get the tefillin from. If you’ve ever seen what it looks like after the tefillin is unwrapped, it’s pretty amazing. God’s scriptures are literally imprinted on your arms, hands and on your forehead. It lasts all day if the tefillin is wrapped tight enough. God’s word is there all day every day. Exodus is such a great book to study!

  15. Thank you Courtney for this amazing bible study! The Lord has been opening my eyes to so much this week! I love Exodus 14:14- “The Lord will fight for you, you need only be still.” What a powerful verse! This reminds me of how I need to trust in His divine providence for me. What an awesome God we serve! Thank you Jesus!

  16. Well, I had TWO major trials happen in my life in a 4 month time-span. One happened while I was still dealing with the fall-out from the first one. Dec 20, 2011 I discovered my husband of 13 years had an affair…then on April 12, 2012 I was diagnosed with a kidney tumor that ended up being cancerous. I am 100% cured of my cancer, my husband and I are still working on our marriage. IF it were not for my faith in God, I don’t know where I’d be. He led me to it so He will see me through it and he has. 🙂

  17. I have very much enjoyed reading through Exodus with you guys, I love reading your SOAK’s, the one thing that’s particularly spoken to me is that the Lord will fight for us! I am going through one of the hardest trials of my life as a Christian, I’m clinging on to God’s word! Thank you Courtney for all your hard work

  18. Fantastic video, Courtney! I love the zest you have for talking about God’s Holy Word!
    I have learned over the years to always cry out to the Lord as a first priority when facing trials. God has always worked out everything better than I could have imagined. Praise Him!

  19. Thank you for this! I am going through the most difficult trial in my life right now and it’s so hard to not question God and be fearful! I need to remember to trust him and be silent because I know he will get me through! Thank you Courtney I needed to hear this and will watch it again and again when I’m feeling weak!

  20. Hi Courtney! I’m reading with a small group and we’re a week behind you. I just wanted to share that in chapter 15, verses 2,6,11,3, and 17-18 form a beautiful prayer. Blessings to all!

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