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Throughout 2022, we have all been trying to figure out how we move on in this new post-pandemic world. Some of us have returned to our offices, either in whole or in part; whereas, some of us have embraced a more permanent remote working paradigm. Some have ventured into entirely new work careers; whereas, others are trying to figure out new roles or the changes in existing roles within our same organizations. The discussions of pro-vax or anti-vax continue. And we are all trying to figure out how to remedy the educational challenges experienced by a generation of students as a result of extended virtual learning.

We all continue to watch hotspots around the world, including the tragic destruction in Ukraine, as its people valiantly defend against the unwarranted aggression of the Russian oligarchy. We reel from the daily reports of senseless killings. We are all experiencing the effects of a volatile global economy. And though the political arena has always had its challenges, one could easily make the case that we have never seen such a leadership void – regardless of our political persuasion, or even the country in which we live.

As we stand on the brink of a new year, it prompts the question: what lies ahead? What will 2023 bring? Just like every other year that has preceded it, it will contain its own set of “unforeseens” and “unexpecteds.” So how do we approach that which awaits us up ahead? There have always been lessons learned in the past that help guide us into the future. Perhaps a good place for us to look is the journey of the Israelites.

They had survived generations of enslavement with little hope of rescue. The more they cried out to God, the more their situation appeared to become bleaker. As a matter of fact, when God’s chosen servant to lead them out of Egypt (Moses) arrived on the scene, pharaoh’s treatment of the people became even more severe.

In Exodus we read, “The people of Israel had lived in Egypt for 430 years. In fact, it was on the last day of the 430th year that all the Lord’s people left the land.”(1) The beginning of a new year stood before them. Imagine how the people felt. Imagine their joy and excitement, as well as their relief. They had clearly heard and seen God’s answer to their prayers. They were witnessing His guiding hand leading them in their journey away from the trials of their past. There was no question that He had made the way. There was no question that He had ordered their steps.

We go on to read, “God did not lead them on the road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest way from Egypt to the Promised Land. God said, ‘If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.’ So God led them along a route through the wilderness toward the Red Sea, and the Israelites left Egypt like a marching army.”(2)

As they arrived at the Red Sea, it appeared to be a good place to rest and be refreshed; a place to stop and enjoy the cool breeze and the green grasses. It was a relaxing oasis. There they could contemplate the blessings that awaited them in the Promised Land. There they could rest from the weariness of the challenges that had preceded their exodus from Egypt and watch to see how God was going to lead them to the other side.

But soon the oasis turned into an obstacle as the Egyptian army appeared, threatening an overwhelming attack. Defeat threatened them at their back door, their provisions appeared to be insufficient to overcome the greatest army of their day, and it appeared that God had now abandoned them. The oasis before them now appeared to obstruct them from experiencing the blessings that God had for them. And even worse, it appeared that God had forsaken them to experience defeat in the wilderness.

But, as it would turn out, the oasis would be the instrument God would use to accomplish His blessing. That which the people now saw as a barrier of defeat, God saw (and had preordained) to be an instrument of His glory.

The Red Sea was always intended by God to be a blessing – never a curse – a blessing to His people and a blessing to the nations – as He would use it to bring glory to His Name throughout the world. What changed the Israelites’ view of the Red Sea from oasis to obstacle – their circumstances or their perspective? God’s perspective looked at the same set of circumstances and saw an oasis that could be used to refresh His people in a way beyond anything they could imagine – an oasis through which He would bring them to an even greater intimacy with Him, a greater fervency in their worship of Him, and a greater testimony of His glory through them.

So how are we looking at what is up ahead of us? Do we see whatever it as the oasis of blessing that our heavenly Father intends or as an obstacle in the way? Let’s not lose sight that the promises He has given us still await us on the other side. But we must bear in mind that we will not cross through our Red Sea until He ordains for us to do so.

Whether the thing that lies ahead appears to be an oasis or an obstacle (or both), He has a purpose for it. He intends to use the Red Sea in our lives to bring us into a greater intimacy with Him, a greater fervency in our worship of Him, and use the circumstance to bring forth greater testimony of His glory.

Only He can make a way through the sea or whatever it is that stands before us. In His omniscience, He has ordered our steps to it. In His sovereignty, He has not ordered our steps to go around it, and in His omnipotence, only He can order our steps through it.

Yes, He placed that Red Sea before us – whatever it looks like in 2023. Let’s enjoy the parts He intends to be an oasis, experiencing the blessings that He has for us through it. And for those that turn out to be an obstacle, let’s trust Him to deliver us through it.

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Portions of this post are taken from The Journey Begins, chapter 5, entitled “Oasis or Obstacle?” This first book in the Lessons Learned In The Wilderness series is available through Amazon in print or for your Kindle or Kindle app. Click HERE for more information on this book.

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(1)  Exodus 12:40-41 (NLT)

(2)  Exodus 13:17-18 (NLT)

Copyright © 2022 Kenneth A. Winter All rights reserved.

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