Trust and Obey
For Women by Women
Submitted by Tara Black
July 11, 2025
Ex 14:10 And when Pharaoh drew nigh... the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD. 16 But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.
A previous devotion stated, “When faithful believers in Christ encounter difficult times, it is an excellent time to decide whether they will continue to trust God.” In this Biblical Account, the children of Israel had a crisis of faith, both in God and in the man He had sent to lead them out of bondage.
We are all familiar with the account of the children of Israel and their miraculous release from Egypt. But I would like us to focus on an underlying theme of faith today.
When Israel encounters the first of many trials on their way to the Promised Land, they have riches from Egypt and are walking towards a watery roadblock. Then Pharoah shows up, and their fears crush their little faith. They cried out to God in the moment of crisis, but He didn’t respond in their timeline. They went to Moses and dramatically voiced their concerns.
Ex 14:12 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.
In the face of difficulty, they forgot all God had done already. Their faith should have been stronger, but they had to encounter much more in the coming years before that faith would grow. This time, God removed the roadblock. All He asked of them was to cross on dry land.
A few years later, in Joshua 3, they are on the overflowing banks of the Jordan with new leadership, and the Levites were told to wade into deep waters with the precious Ark. God wanted them to flex the “spiritual muscles” that they had gained in the years after the Red Sea crossing. Their faith in God had grown, and God demanded more action from them.
As we grow in grace and faith, becoming more Christlike daily, may we follow God’s commands speedily and trust Him as He leads us through deeper waters.
Reflection—It’s not the distance you travel, but the direction.
