And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. And I indeed will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen” (Exod 14:15-18).
Our country spends more on its military than 144 other countries combined, and more than the next ten biggest militaries combined. And yet, every few years there are political battles fought over whether to increase the already enormous spending because there is a sense that America can only be great and powerful if we have a great and powerful military. Having the most advanced weaponry in the world gives many people a sense of security. “Peace through strength,” President Reagan once said.
The Egyptians also believed in the power of their military. During the time of Exodus 14, they had the most powerful military on earth, with the most advanced weaponry available at that time, and they were about to use those weapons to bring death and destruction on their recent runaway slaves, i.e., the children of Israel.
By any reasonable estimation, the Egyptians were right to feel confident.
We know the Jews were terrified of what was coming. And what did God do to stem their fears? Did He raise an army? Did He give the Jews even better weapons than the Egyptians possessed?
No. God told Moses to hold up a stick.
Yes, a stick.
“Lift up your rod.”
Untold thousands of Egyptian spears, arrows, and swords were aimed at the Jews—and Moses had a stick.
That doesn’t make any kind of earthly sense, of course, but that’s the point. God wanted Israel to learn that their safety and security did not depend upon the power of a stick but upon the power of God. Which brings me to the next principle about worry:
Principle 6: Your utter inadequacy can display God’s glorious adequacy.
The truth is we all tend to trust in things to keep us safe and secure. And we often forget that those things do not provide for you; they are only the means by which God provides for you. When you start to treat those mere provisions as if they were the Provider, then you’ve turned a thing into an idol.
Raising a stick against Egypt’s armies was woefully inadequate—but that was the point. God was going to show that He was gloriously adequate for Israel’s predicament and that His heavenly power was far greater than even Egypt’s earthly power, as amazingly demonstrated by the parting of the Red Sea, Israel’s rescue, and the Egyptian army’s destruction.
Egypt depended on their own resources and was destroyed, while Israel learned to depend on God’s resources and was delivered. Whatever your circumstances, are you trusting in your provisions or in your Provider?
